


Paralyzed

by wheremylizardsat



Series: The fantasy AU [1]
Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Alternate Universe - Royalty, Character Death In Dream, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/F, Gen, I Tried, I'm Sorry, Kageyama Tobio Needs a Hug, M/M, Magic-Users, Major Character Injury, Minor Azumane Asahi/Nishinoya Yuu, Minor Hanamaki Takahiro/Matsukawa Issei, Minor Original Character(s), Minor Shimizu Kiyoko/Yachi Hitoka, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Please Kill Me, Quests, Spells & Enchantments, Violence, kageyama is the king, my hand slipped, this wasn't supposed to be this angsty
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-15
Updated: 2020-02-27
Packaged: 2021-02-25 20:49:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 22
Words: 24,441
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21811711
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wheremylizardsat/pseuds/wheremylizardsat
Summary: Kageyama has just become king and is NOT ready for the troubles that arise on his coronation day.COMPLETED
Relationships: Akaashi Keiji/Bokuto Koutarou, Hinata Shouyou & Yachi Hitoka, Hinata Shouyou/Kageyama Tobio, Iwaizumi Hajime/Oikawa Tooru, Kozume Kenma/Kuroo Tetsurou, Minor or Background Relationship(s), Nishinoya Yuu & Tanaka Ryuunosuke, Other Relationship Tags to Be Added, Sawamura Daichi/Sugawara Koushi
Series: The fantasy AU [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1624801
Comments: 59
Kudos: 124





	1. The Coronation

**Author's Note:**

> I'm trying to write a fantasy AU and tbh this is kinda stressful.  
> Oh well.

Kageyama’s eyes fluttered open. He sat up in bed and rubbed his eyes.  
He knew something was happening today, but he wasn’t sure what. 

Someone knocked on the door. “Prince Tobio, are you awake yet?” Ennoshita opened the door a crack and peeked his head in.

“Yes, I’m awake. Remind me what’s happening again today, Ennoshita?”

“It’s your coronation, sir. Be ready by noon.” He bowed and left the room.

Kageyama shot out of bed. His coronation! How could he have forgotten? He checked the clock in the corner of his room. It was already 10 o’clock. 

The tailors came into his room after he took a bath and combed his hair.  
As he stood waiting for them to finish fitting him with his suit, one of the tailors spoke.

“How are you feeling today, sir?”

Kageyama sighed. To be honest, he didn’t feel he was ready to become king, but he didn’t really have a choice in the matter. 

“I’m not sure. We’ll see how everything goes.” 

The tailor smiled at him. “All done. Good luck, sir.”

The tailors left him alone in the room. Kageyama turned slowly in front of the mirror, checking the fit of the suit. He glimpsed the picture on his bedside table and sighed. 

The picture showed him as a kid, standing in between his parents. His mother was smiling and his dad had a hand on his shoulder. Kageyama frowned slightly. He wondered what his parents would say now, seeing him like this. He almost never left the castle and had only agreed to become king a couple weeks ago, after much stubbornness. 

Everything had been much harder since his parents passed away. He didn’t talk to anyone except his servants and completely ignored the royal guard. Not that they had much to tell him. The kingdom had been mostly peaceful for a long time now, aside from some minor disagreements between citizens. Kageyama didn’t even know the captain of the royal guard’s name.

He checked the clock again. It was 11:32. Ennoshita had said to be ready by noon and he had accomplished that. Kageyama paced his room, overcome by sudden worry. Would everything go as planned? What if he did something wrong? What if a spy from a neighbouring kingdom tried to assassinate him? His thoughts were interrupted by a sharp knock on the door. 

“Come in,” said Kageyama, a bit more harshly than he intended. He knew it was Ennoshita coming to escort him to the coronation.

The door opened and a young man walked in.

Kageyama looked at him with confusion. “You’re not Ennoshita.”

The young man grinned. “No, sir. I’m Nishinoya, member of the royal guard. Ennoshita sent me to escort you to your coronation.” He bowed. 

Kageyama frowned. “Where’s Ennoshita?”

Nishinoya shrugged. “He said he had to talk to Kiyoko. We better get going or you’ll be late.”

Kageyama reluctantly followed him out of his room and through the halls of the castle. Kageyama was, as usual, surprised by how big the castle was. The only rooms he frequented were his own and sometimes the library if he was bored, and since the library was right across from his bedroom, he didn’t travel around much. 

Nishinoya skipped along the halls humming to himself. Kageyama didn’t have to do much to keep up, as he was much taller than the other young man and his strides were much longer. 

When they got to the coronation hall, Nishinoya waved at all the other members of the royal guard and ran to join them. Kageyama squinted at the rest of them. He was pretty sure he recognized a couple faces but he didn’t know any of their names. 

He went and stood at the front of the room. The seats were filled with citizens, all looking at him. He took a deep breath and tried to relax.

The ceremony didn’t last long, and when it was over, Kageyama was relieved. Everyone had flocked to the ballroom to dance and he was alone in the hall except for a few members of the royal guard. 

One of them came up to him and bowed. “Your Majesty, are you going to go to the ballroom?”

Kageyama was startled. “Oh, um, I guess so.” 

The guard sensed his discomfort and smiled sympathetically. “Forgive me for not introducing myself, Your Highness. My name is Daichi. Sawamura Daichi. I’m the captain of the royal guard.”

Kageyama nodded, not sure what to say. The rest of the remaining members of the royal guard came up to them and bowed. 

Kageyama recognized two of them, one with messy black hair and another with grey hair that stood straight up. He summoned the courage to speak. “Excuse me, but how long have you two been members of the royal guard? It’s just, I recognize you from when my father was still king.”

The black-haired one nodded. “Kuroo Tetsurou. Bokuto and I have been part of the royal guard for three years.”

Bokuto grinned at Kageyama. 

Kageyama scratched his neck. Three years. That meant that they had been guards for two years when his parents had gone missing.

A cheerful voice brought Kageyama back to the present. A short orange-haired guy was jumping up and down close to him. “Hey, this is the new king! It must be cool to be king. You have full control over an entire kingdom! And not to mention that…” 

Kageyama stopped listening and tried to move away from the annoying stranger. 

Daichi spoke up. “Hinata, give the king some space, would you? He’s probably pretty overwhelmed right now.”

Kageyama looked at him gratefully and the orange-haired guy, Hinata, deflated.

“Sorry, Captain. I just got excited.” He turned to Kageyama. “Nice to meet you. I'm Hinata.” He extended his hand in greeting. 

Kageyama took it and they shook hands. 

Another guard spoke up. Kageyama recognized this one. His name was Iwaizumi, and he had been living in the castle since Kageyama was little. 

“Your Majesty, would you like us to escort you to the ballroom?” His voice was firm and respectful. Kageyama remembered that they had trained together as kids.

He nodded. Kuroo, Bokuto, Daichi, Hinata, and Iwaizumi led him towards the ballroom. Kageyama thought that maybe meeting others in the castle wasn’t so bad after all. Just as long as everyone wasn’t as loud as Hinata.


	2. The Ball

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another chapter! I've been working really hard on this fic so I hope you enjoy it!

The ballroom was filled with people. Kageyama stayed near the back, avoiding the crowd. Occasionally, someone would come up and congratulate him. Kageyama tried his best to be as nice as possible to strangers who asked intrusive questions about his parents and himself. 

The old woman he had been talking to bid him farewell with a curtsy and went to join another woman on the dance floor. 

Kageyama sighed. This much social interaction was taking a toll on him. He hadn’t had to make small talk in ages. He looked up at the balcony above him. Iwaizumi was standing there, watching him and talking with someone.  
If Kageyama remembered correctly, he was an archer and one of Iwaizumi’s closest friends. 

Kageyama felt slightly unnerved knowing that Iwaizumi was observing him, but reminded himself that it was his job to guarantee the king’s safety. Kageyama just had the misfortune to be that king.

He looked out across the room of people and his eyes landed on the orange-haired guard from earlier, Hinata. He was easily weaving in and out of the crowd due to his small size and he seemed to be looking for someone. 

Seconds later, Kageyama lost sight of him and felt a tap on his shoulder. 

“Your Majesty?” 

Kageyama spun around and much to his surprise was met by Hinata’s worried face. He frowned.

“Is there something wrong?”

Hinata bit his lip and looked over Kageyama’s shoulder at the crowd. “No, at least not yet. You see… Well, I think it would be best to just show you.”

Hinata grabbed his hand and pulled him through the crowd. Kageyama noticed the people around them start whispering at the sight of their king being dragged across the room by a guard. He ignored them.

They stopped at the edge of the room, in the doorway that led to the coronation hall. Kageyama tried to get a better look, but all he could see was the odd flash of brilliantly coloured light. 

He looked at Hinata quizzically. “What’s going on?”

Hinata rubbed the back of his neck. “Bokuto told me it’s just some mages having fun, but Daichi said we should shut it down before someone gets hurt.”

Kageyama’s eyes widened. Mages? He had never seen powerful magic up close before, only small spells like the ones his mother did to grow the plants on her windowsill.

“Kageyama, what should we do?”

The use of his family name snapped him back to reality. He looked down at Hinata.

Hinata jumped. “Ah, sorry, sorry! I mean, what should we do, Your Majesty?”

“You don’t have to bother with all that. You can call me Kageyama. In fact, I prefer that over Your Majesty.” He glanced at the floor.

Hinata smiled. “Okay, Kageyama. What should we do?”

“I’m not sure. How do we get them to stop?”

Hinata leapt in the air. “I could fight them!”

Just then, Daichi stepped into the doorway. “That won’t be necessary. Kuroo and Bokuto have already taken care of the problem.”

Kageyama heard voices from the coronation hall. He recognized Kuroo and Bokuto, telling the young mages that they had to leave. He was relieved that there wasn’t much resistance and the mages walked past him, Hinata, and Daichi back into the ballroom. 

Kuroo and Bokuto joined them in the doorway.

“It was just a little trouble-making on their part, youngsters being curious,” said Kuroo. “Nothing to worry about.”

Daichi sighed. “Good. I thought for a second that the delicate peace of this kingdom would be disturbed.”

Kageyama didn’t know if it was the way he said it or something else, but Daichi’s words sent a chill down his spine. 

Bokuto hit him on the back reassuringly. “Don’t worry, sir. Our friend Tsukishima will be watching those guys to make sure they don’t cause any more trouble tonight. He’s also part of the royal guard.” He jerked his thumb towards the balcony, where a tall, blond man was standing, along with another archer with green hair.

Kageyama nodded. He then realized that Hinata still hadn’t let go of his hand. Face flushing, he pulled his hand away and went back into the ballroom. He found the least crowded spot and settled down on a recently vacated couch. He was pretty sure he had scared off the couple that had just been sitting on it. 

Kageyama rubbed his temples. Only his first day as king, and he was already under this much stress. 

Sighing, he frowned, knowing how much harder it would be when he would have to deal with all the responsibilities that came with being king. Especially maintaining good relationships with neighbouring kingdoms and preventing war. 

Kageyama rose and made a quick decision to leave the party and retire to the library for the night. It would much less crowded and maybe he could get a moment to think. 

He then remembered that he had no idea how to get around the castle and would have to ask someone. The one person he could think of who would understand that he wanted some time to relax was the captain of the royal guard. 

Kageyama scanned the room and saw Daichi sitting on a couch with a man with silver hair, who was laughing.

He carefully made his way over to the couch and cleared his throat. “Um, Captain, sorry to bother you, but could you maybe tell me how to get to the library?”

Daichi stood up from the couch. “Of course, Your Majesty. I’ll escort you there.”  
He leaned down and whispered a few words to the man on the couch before leaving.

Daichi led Kageyama down the halls. It took them less than two minutes before they got to the large doors that led to the library. 

Daichi smiled at him. “Enjoy the quiet, sir.” 

“Thank you,” Kageyama managed to choke out before Daichi turned around and went back the way they came. 

Kageyama pushed open the doors to the library, glad to finally be able to get some peace and quiet.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I will try to update on Sunday but it might not happen since I'm seeing family. 
> 
> If there are any things you think need to be fixed please tell me!


	3. The Library

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I didn't have wifi all weekend so I couldn't post.  
> I'm dying. There aren't any paragraph breaks and I apologize for that. I'll add them when I can.  
> Enjoy this chapter!

There were already two others in the library. Kageyama recognized them as scribes. He had seen the two before on previous visits to the library, and they were both the quiet type, so he wasn’t worried.

He browsed the shelves for a little while before deciding on a random book. He sat down on an armchair near the fireplace and opened it.

Not long after, Kageyama heard the door open. He looked up from his book and saw Bokuto run over to where the scribes were working. 

“Akaashi!” Bokuto looked over the shoulder of one of the scribes. “Whatcha doing?”

The scribe sighed. “Please be careful, Bokuto. You’ll spill the ink.”

Bokuto turned around and noticed Kageyama sitting in the chair. “Your Majesty! Have you met the scribes?”

Kageyama shook his head. “Not formally.” He got up from his chair and went over to the table. The two scribes stood up and bowed.

The one Bokuto had called Akaashi nodded his head. “Nice to meet you, Your Majesty. I’m Akaashi.”

“Kenma. Congratulations on your coronation.” 

Kageyama turned to the other scribe. “Oh. Uh, thank you.”

Bokuto grinned. “Akaashi, are you coming to the party? It’ll be ending soon.”

“You know I have a lot of work to do, Bokuto.” 

Kenma sat back down in his chair. “I don’t mind doing a little extra work. You go on ahead, Akaashi. Have a nice time.”

Akaashi raised his eyebrows. He bowed and thanked Kenma before Bokuto grabbed his hand and whisked him off to the ballroom.

Kageyama stood in the library awkwardly for a moment before going back to his spot by the fireplace. If he was lucky, he could finish his book just as the party ended and then go straight to bed.

Everything was quiet except for the crackle of the fireplace and the faint noise coming from the ballroom. It was relaxing, but Kageyama couldn’t help but feel like something was wrong. He told himself that it was just his mind playing tricks on him, making him nervous.

But after a few minutes, Kageyama was definitely sure. Something was wrong. There were no sounds coming from outside the library. None. 

Kageyama got up from his chair and laid his book on the table beside him. Kenma turned around and looked at him. He seemed to have come to the same realization as Kageyama and got up from his chair.

The two of them went to the door of the library. Kageyama pushed it open and Kenma stepped in front of him, leading the way to the ballroom. 

When they got to the ballroom, Kageyama stood there in shock. 

Everyone in the room was paralyzed. 

Kageyama watched as Kenma walked up to one woman and poked her arm, earning no reaction. 

Kenma turned to him. “This looks like a spell gone wrong, but it could’ve been purposeful. We should see if there’s anyone who wasn’t frozen.”

Kageyama nodded. He went around the ballroom, checking for anyone who might not be frozen by the spell, but there was no one.

Kenma couldn’t find anyone either. 

They both looked up when they heard a shout from the balcony. It was Kuroo. 

“Kenma! Your Majesty!” He disappeared and seconds later came rushing into the ballroom. “I thought everyone was frozen except for me. Kenma, are you okay?”

Kenma nodded. “Yes, thank you. Kuroo, do you know what happened?”

Kuroo shook his head. “I was looking through the halls to find out where Bokuto went but I couldn’t find him. I figured he was back in the ballroom but when I got here everyone was frozen.”

Kageyama frowned. “Is there anyone else who wasn’t affected?”

“I’m not sure, sir. Most of the members of the royal guard aren't here, but I’m pretty sure everyone was in the ballroom for most of the night.”

Kenma looked at the floor. “Akaashi left the library a little while ago when Bokuto dragged him to the party. Knowing him, they might still be wandering the halls.” 

Kuroo nodded. “The archers were all stationed on the balcony, but I didn't see them when I was up there, so there’s a good chance they aren’t frozen.”

“What about Hinata and the other guards?” Kageyama asked, his tone more worried than he wanted it to be.

Kuroo shrugged. “I think the spell hit everyone who was on the dance floor. If you can’t find them here then they probably aren’t frozen. I’ve got to admit though, there were supposed to be a lot of guards stationed here. I wonder where they all went.”

Kageyama heard a sound near the entryway. Bokuto and Akaashi entered the ballroom, holding hands. 

“Ah! Kuroo! Wait, what happened? Why isn’t anyone moving?”

Kenma sighed. “They were most likely hit with a spell. It’s good to know you two aren’t frozen.”

“Where were you, man? I was looking all over for you.” Kuroo smirked at Bokuto when he saw his fingers intertwined with Akaashi’s. 

“We, well, um… we got lost. Yeah, we got lost.”

Akaashi let go of Bokuto’s hand and began walking among the frozen people. “I’m assuming the spell only hit people in the ballroom. How are all of you not frozen?”

His questions sounded sincere, but Kageyama couldn’t help but feel he was just trying to draw the attention away from him and Bokuto.

“The king and I were in the library,” said Kenma quietly.

“I was looking around for you two,” Kuroo said, smirking.

Kageyama sat down on one of the couches that wasn’t occupied by immobile figures. He pressed his fingers to his temples. This was all too much to handle.  
They had to find more people.  
Kageyama’s brain showed him Hinata’s face but he shoved it away. They needed to find someone with leadership skills, because Kageyama knew that if worse came to worst, he couldn’t lead any of these people with confidence.

Much to his horror, everyone turned to him. Just before someone could ask the dreaded question of what they should do next, two people appeared in the doorway.

Kageyama sighed with relief. Daichi was just the person he needed right now.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's seems a bit short, but that might just be me. Oh well.


	4. The Dungeon

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy holidays!
> 
> I'm kind of mad because I wrote an entire one-shot on my phone but it didn't save, but oh well. 
> 
> Enjoy this chapter!

Daichi stepped into the room with the silver-haired man Kageyama had seen him with before. 

He looked across the room at all the frozen people then looked at their small group. 

“What happened here?”

Kuroo scratched his head. “It seems that a spell was cast upon everyone in the ballroom. All of us weren't here when it happened, so we’re not exactly sure.”

The silver-haired man put a hand on Daichi’s shoulder. “I’m sure it’s fine. We just have to undo the spell.”

Daichi noticed the slightly confused look Kageyama was giving him and smiled. “This is Suga. He’s one of the castle healers.”

Suga bowed to Kageyama and shook hands with everyone else. “Nice to meet you all. Too bad it’s under such dire circumstances.” He laughed sweetly. 

Daichi scrutinized their small group. “So, we have seven people unfrozen, that’s pretty good.”

Nishinoya burst into the room. “Guys! I was looking all over for others who weren’t frozen!”

Daichi smiled at him. “Make that eight. Good to see you, Noya.”

Nishinoya grinned. 

Kuroo raised his hand to draw everyone’s attention. “There are still others. The archers were on the balcony with Tsukishima and Iwaizumi. Also, Shrimpy is still okay, along with Tanaka, who I haven’t seen all night. I assume that means he’s unfrozen.”

Nishinoya jumped about frantically. “What about Asahi? Is he okay?”

Daichi nodded. “He’s sick and hasn’t left his room all day. In fact, we should probably go get him and inform him about what has happened.”

Bokuto clapped his hands. “That’s a great idea! We might find some of the others on the way there too!” 

Everyone got into pairs and filed out of the ballroom with Daichi and Suga leading the way. Kageyama was stuck next to Nishinoya, which was bearable for the most part.  
Kageyama didn’t mind the humming, because it was a good distraction to occupy his brain and prevent him from thinking about what would happen next-and what the future of his kingdom would be like if they couldn’t undo the spell. 

The little group ascended three flights of stairs into a tall tower. At the top there was a hallway with three doors. 

“This is where the scribes stay, Your Majesty,” Nishinoya told Kageyama. 

He then ran to the second door on the right of the hall and knocked four times, paused, then knocked again twice.

Kageyama watched as the door opened a crack and a tall, intimidating man with his hair pulled back peered out. 

“Noya? What are you doing here?” 

Nishinoya pulled the door open wider and the man stepped out of his room.

Daichi looked at him. “Sorry to bother you, Asahi, but something has happened.”

Asahi gasped. “Oh my goodness, is everyone okay? What happened?”

Suga smiled reassuringly. “Everyone is fine. We just have a minor problem.”

“Minor? Everyone in the castle is frozen, I wouldn’t call that minor,” said Akaashi quietly.

“Everyone what!?” Asahi had his emotions written all over his face, and Kageyama couldn’t help but think that he was nothing like the two other scribes. 

He spoke up. “A spell was cast on the people in the ballroom, rendering them immobile.”

Asahi glance at him and upon realizing who he was looking at, bowed deeply. “Uh, hello, Your Majesty. Congratulations on your coronation.”

Kageyama nodded, unsure of what to say. He was flattered, but didn’t think that any of the formalities were important right now. They had to find as many people as possible who were still alright. 

Suga suddenly snapped his fingers. “Yachi and Kiyoko!”

Everyone looked at him, confused.

“They were working in the dungeon for most of the night. Yachi’s a healer too, and Kiyoko’s an archer, but she can also do magic. The two of them should still be down there.” 

Kageyama shivered. The dungeon didn’t sound like a very welcoming place. “Uh, isn’t that where they keep prisoners?” he asked timidly.

“We haven’t had prisoners in years, sir. The dungeon is just extra space now,” Kuroo told him. “There isn't a single soul sitting in those dark, damp cells.”

“Well then, shall we?” Daichi took the lead again with Suga hanging onto his arm.

Kageyama noticed that the two seemed close and wondered if there was anything between them. He then reminded himself it was absolutely none of his business and hurried to catch up with the others. 

Walking through the halls of the castle, Bokuto reminded everybody to be as loud as possible so that the others could hear them and find them.

Everything immediately became chaos as Kuroo, Bokuto, and Nishinoya started talking as loud as they possibly could about the most random things. Kageyama noticed that Kenma and Akaashi looked like they were displeased, but not too surprised. He wondered if they were used to this.

Daichi and Suga were having a quiet conversation in the front and Asahi was at the back making sure they didn’t lose anyone.

Kageyama tuned out most of the noise and didn’t realize he was walking away from the group until he bumped into someone. 

“Ah! Watch it!” 

Kageyama looked at the person and discovered it was the archer he had seen Iwaizumi with.

“Tobio-chan! Long time no see.”

The stranger was promptly smacked in the head by Iwaizumi, who came up behind him. “That’s not how you address the king, idiot. Have some respect.”

The man pouted. “That hurt, Iwa-chan. You should have some respect for me.”

Iwaizumi ignored him and addressed the group. “Well, it’s good to see that there are others who weren’t affected. Where are you headed? By the direction you’re walking in, I’m guessing the dungeon, but that can’t be it.”

Daichi smiled sheepishly. “I’m afraid we are heading to the dungeons. We know that some more people are down there and we’re going to find them.”

Iwaizumi nodded. “We had better stick together, Captain.”

Daichi nodded, and Iwaizumi dragged the other man into line behind Kageyama and Nishinoya. 

The man introduced himself as Oikawa, and Kageyama finally recognized him. He had trained with him and Iwaizumi when they were all children. That also explained why Oikawa had called him by his first name.

It wasn’t a long walk to the dungeons but to Kageyama it felt like days. The group was growing louder and louder the closer they got and Kageyama had to put his hands over his ears to dull the noise. 

Eventually they got to the dungeon. Suga told everyone he should go first, since he knew the girls and could explain the situation to them delicately. 

Everybody hung back for a minute after Suga left before Daichi led them into the dungeon. It was cold, as Kageyama had expected, and smelled faintly of blood. 

As they went deeper in though, the scent changed to one of burning wood, dirt, and peppermint. 

They turned a corner and found Suga standing beside two girls. They were seated at a table with a large cauldron on it. Kageyama realized that the cauldron was where the scent seemed to be coming from. 

Everyone crowded into the space. It was a tight squeeze, as the room had originally been designed to hold three prisoners, but everyone fit in. Several people were standing on Kageyama’s feet and he had to concentrate to make sure he didn’t fall on anyone. 

One of the girls had a terrified look on her face as she watched them all come into the room. 

Kageyama felt bad for her. He knew that most of the members of their little group didn’t look too welcoming, and they were all quite tall. Except for Nishinoya.

Suga smiled at them all. “I’ve already explained to Yachi and Kiyoko what has happened.”

One of the girls, whom Kageyama assumed was Kiyoko, smiled at them. Everyone greeted the girls and the other one, Yachi, waved timidly back.

“Yachi, Kiyoko, you had better join us. We should be heading to find the others,” said Daichi.

Kuroo nodded. “Tsukishima, Yamaguchi, and Hinata are still missing.”

Yachi nodded. Kiyoko stood up first, grabbing her hand and leading her towards the group. Kageyama noticed Yachi’s cheeks turn pink.

Daichi nodded promptly and everyone turned to exit the small, stuffy dungeon.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Almost everyone has been collected, so I'm going to start actually getting into the plot soon. Hopefully.
> 
> If I made any grammar/spelling mistakes please tell me!


	5. Back to the ballroom

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm tired. Here's another chapter!
> 
> Enjoy!

They had been walking around the castle for approximately five minutes when someone spoke up. 

“Maybe we should go back to the ballroom? I mean, wouldn’t that be the most logical thing to do?”

Kageyama didn’t know who said it but they were right. If they wanted to find Hinata and the others it made sense to return to the ballroom, since it was the most likely place for them to be.

Daichi turned his head around to look at the group and nodded.

“We should head back there. That’s where we have the biggest chance of finding the others.” He turned back around and Kageyama saw him take Suga’s hand before their group started moving in the direction of the ballroom.

Kageyama was walking alone in the group now that Nishinoya had moved to the back beside Asahi. He took a moment to appreciate the rear. Silence. It had been a long time since he had been able to clearly hear his own thoughts.

He sighed. He had noticed that everyone was in pairs in the group. Daichi and Suga, Nishinoya and Asahi, Iwaizumi and Oikawa, Kuroo and Kenma, Akaashi and Bokuto, and Kiyoko and Yachi.  
Everyone seemed to be close, and he wondered what could've happened if he hadn’t isolated himself after his parents died.

Would he have made friends and forged bonds? Would everything be different?

It probably would have been good for him.

The group rounded a corner and as they entered an open door in the hallway, Kageyama spotted a distressed Hinata pacing in an empty room. Hinata turned and looked at him.

“Kageyama! You’re not frozen!”

He ran towards the king and stopped directly in front of him. Kageyama looked down into his eyes. He didn’t want to admit it, but he was glad that the obnoxious young man wasn’t affected by the spell.

“Kageyama did you see what happened? It’s crazy! Do you think it was those mages from earlier?”

Kuroo stepped in between them. “Whoa there, shrimpy. Nice to know you’re not, you know, paralyzed or anything. We’ve been looking all over for you.”

Daichi walked over to them. “Hinata, have you seen Tsukushima and Yamaguchi? They are the only ones we haven’t found yet.”

Hinbata bit his lip. “Hmm, let me see… last time I saw them, they were together on the balcony before everyone got frozen.”

“Wait, Hinata, you weren’t in the ballroom when the spell was cast, so where were you?” asked Bokuto.

“Oh. um…” Hinata scratched his head. He lowered his voice before saying, “I was looking for the king.”

Kageyama could feel his face turning red and looked down at his feet.

Daichi smiled. “Well, I guess we’ll just have to hope that Tsukishima and Yamaguchi find us in the ballroom. Let’s go.” he kept walking in the direction of the ballroom.

Hinata fell into step beside Kageyama. Kageyama tried to stay calm, not knowing why he was getting so flustered.

Hinata made an attempt at conversation. “So, this pretty crazy, huh?”

Kageyama nodded weakly. “Yeah…”

“It’s kinda cool though! I mean, I didn’t know spells could be that powerful!”

“Me neither,” Kageyama whispered.

Hinata looked up at him. “Why don’t you know anything?”

Kageyama coughed. “Excuse me?!”

“I just mean, you’re the king, right? You don’t seem to know a lot about the kingdom.” Hinata shrugged.

“Ah...” Kageyama furrowed his brow. “No, I guess I don’t.”

Hinata smiled slightly. “It’s okay. Now that you know me, I can teach you everything you need to know.”

Kageyama raised an eyebrow in Hinata’s direction. “You're probably just as clueless as me. I don’t think you could teach me much.”

Hinata looked offended. “I’m not stupid!” he shouted.

Kuroo turned around. “What’s going on back there?”

“Nothing!” Kageyama said. Hinata glared at him but didn’t say anything.

Kuroo shrugged and went back to talking quietly with Kenma.

They made it back to the ballroom.  
Seeing all the frozen people again unnerved Kageyama. He tensely stood in the doorway as everyone else walked into the room.

Asaahi gasped as he walked around the figures. “This… this is terrible. I can’t believe someone would do this.”

Akaashi pressed his lips into a thin line. “There’s a possibility it could have been an accident,” he said, but no one seemed convinced.

Kageyama looked up at the balcony to distract himself from the immobile people and spotted movement. Kuroo must have seen the same thing as him because he ran out of the room and appeared on the balcony several seconds later.

Daichi looked at Kageyama with a question in his eyes. 

“I think we found them, Captain,” said Kageyama.

Daichi turned to everybody else. “C’mon guys, let’s join Kuroo on the balcony.”

They followed him up and found Kuroo standing with an annoyed Tsukishima and the green-haired guy from before, who Kageyama figured was Yamaguchi.

“Tsukki! Glad to know you're okay!” cried Bokuto.

Tsukishima sighed. “Don’t call me that.”

Oikawa pushed his way to the front and waved at Yamaguchi.  
Kageyama realized that they must know each other since they were both archers. 

Daichi cleared his throat. “Okay, now that we have everyone…”

Nishinoya started waving his arms frantically. Asahi looked at him with concern.

“Wait! What about Ryuu?”

Kuroo looked uneasily at the group. “Well, I didn’t want to tell you guys, but…” He pursed his lips.

Kenma sighed. “Just say it.”

“He got frozen. He was the only guard who actually stayed where he was supposed to, though.”

Nishinoya’s jaw dropped. “But…”

“Kuroo’s right. All of you left your posts when you weren’t supposed to. It’s good that you weren’t affected by the spell but you were supposed to be guarding the ballroom,” Daichi chimed in.

Everyone quieted down. Asahi put his arm around Nishinoya. 

Kageyama shifted his weight on his feet. He felt out of place in this group. They all knew each other, save Kiyoko and Yachi, and seemed to know how to respond to each other’s actions.

Hinata appeared beside him. “Kageyama, what are we gonna do?”

Kageyama looked down at him with despair. He realized that the fate of the kingdom was all on him and he would surely mess it up. Hinata would be disappointed and hate him.

Why did he care so much? For the past year, he hadn’t cared at all. Now he had an entire kingdom to rule, he was completely unprepared, and it was so easy to mess up.

“Uh, Kageyama? Is everything okay?”

Kageyama jumped at the sound of Hinata’s voice. 

Hinata was looking up at him, eyes wide. “You look constipated.”

Kageyama lunged at him.

Hinata jumped back and accidentally hit Tsukishima.

“What do you think you’re doing?” Tsukishima looked down at him with disdain.

“What, you wanna fight?” Hinata raised his fists.

“Hinata, please calm down.” Daichi stepped in. “We need to figure out what we’re going to do next.”

Suga nodded. Akaashi stepped out from behind Bokuto.

“We should probably go to the library if we want to find a way to reverse the spell.”

Kiyoko nodded. “That’s right, we have to find out what spell the caster used before we can reverse it.”

“We have a lot of scrolls that talk about spells. I just finished sorting them yesterday,” added Kenma.

The group simultaneously turned and walked along the balcony to the library’s second entrance. Kageyama sighed.

It was going to be a long night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think they have everyone now...  
> More action will be coming.


	6. Nighttime

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so I lied. There isn't action. Whoops.
> 
> Almost couldn't post this because of reasons but here we are. Enjoy!

Everyone was scattered throughout the library, doing their own thing. Kenma was looking through a pile of scrolls. Several others were browsing the shelves, talking quietly to each other and themselves.

Kageyama found a book about spells and took it from the shelf. He sat down and flipped through the pages, not really paying attention.

His mind was somewhere else.

"Hey. Whatcha reading?"

Kageyama looked up from his book and saw Hinata sitting on the arm of the chair he was in, looking down at the book.

"Uh... I'm trying to find stuff about spells I guess."

Hinata smiled and nodded. He didn't move from the chair so Kageyama went back to reading and just ignored the fact that he was there.

A few minutes later, they heard Daichi speak up.

"It's getting late. I think we all need some sleep."

Suga nodded. "So, should we all go to our separate rooms or...?"

Everyone stood there awkwardly for a second.

"I think it's better if we stick together. Who knows what could happen? We should sleep in here and take turns keeping watch," said Daichi, putting a book back on the shelf.

"Good idea. I’ll take first watch," offered Kuroo.

Daichi thanked him. Luckily, there were blankets in the library, so everyone spaced themselves out in different spots on the floor.

There weren't enough blankets for all of them, so they had to pair up.

Everyone said goodnight and Kuroo started to keep watch.

Kageyama yanked on the side of the blanket to cover himself. Hinata was hogging most of it and kicked a lot in his sleep.

Hinata rolled over. Kageyama was suddenly aware of how close their faces were and pushed Hinata's head backwards.

He turned to the other side and pulled the blanket closer to his chest. He was taking third shift, and he heard Kuroo wake up Daichi for the second shift.

Kageyama knew he wouldn't sleep much that night, especially with Hinata asleep beside him.

He sighed, quietly, and rubbed his eyes. The room was silent and he could hear the sounds of the others breathing as well as the occasional snore

It was a little while later that Daichi shook his shoulder. "Your Majesty, it's your shift."

"Mhm, yeah," said Kageyama groggily. He got up from the floor and stretched his arms. Hinata pulled the blanket over in his sleep.

Kageyama watched Daichi go back to where Suga was sleeping and crawl under the blanket.

He looked around the room. Everyone seemed to be sleeping peacefully.

He smiled slightly when he saw Nishinoya cradled in Asahi's arms. They were both perfectly still and Kageyama could see Nishinoya's chest rising and falling with his breath.

He paced around the library, being careful to walk quietly, to not wake anyone up. His shift was an hour long, from 1 o'clock to 2 o'clock, and Bokuto had the shift after him.

He lit a candle and walked around, touching books on the shelves and thinking to himself. He knew he was supposed to be keeping watch for anything suspicious or dangerous, but it didn't feel like anything was going to happen.

He settled down in a chair and read for the rest of his shift. He was just finishing a chapter when he realized it was 2AM.

He went over to Bokuto to wake him up. He was sleeping next to Akaashi, and their hands were intertwined. Bokuto's head was laying on Akaashi's shoulder and their blanket was bunched up near their feet.

Kageyama felt bad that he needed to wake Bokuto up, but he also wanted to get some sleep himself.

He knelt down and shook Bokuto's shoulder.

Bokuto woke up immediately. "Huh? Is it my turn to keep watch now?"

"Uh, yes. If you don't mind," Kageyama said awkwardly.

Bokuto grinned and got up from the floor. He took the candle from Kageyama and positioned himself in the middle of the library.

Kageyama went back to where Hinata was snoozing on the floor. Hinata had the blanket gripped in his hands and Kageyama tried to get it back.

All the pulling woke Hinata up and he blinked tiredly at Kageyama.

"Gimme some of the blanket, you idiot," whispered Kageyama.

Hinata reluctantly let go of the blanket and let Kageyama pull it over to his side.

"But I don't have any blanket now," Hinata whined.

Kageyama ignored him. Seconds later, he felt Hinata move closer to him and pull the blanket over his own body.

Kageyama lay there, shocked. He was too startled to move away from Hinata and if he was being honest, Hinata was warm and he didn't necessarily want to move.

"Shut up, Kageyama."

"I... I didn't say anything!"

"You're thinking too loud. Go to sleep," Hinata whispered.

Kageyama frowned, but closed his eyes anyway. He fell asleep to the steady pulse of Hinata's heartbeat next to his own.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know I missed a period somewhere... Whatever.


	7. Decisions

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hoo boy. I really don't want to go back to school. 
> 
> Updates might be a little late sometimes due to that, but I'll try my best.

Kageyama woke up last. Everyone was already gathered around a table and they seemed to be looking at a scroll.

He heard Kuroo’s voice. “Good job, Kenma.”

Kageyama stood up and rubbed the sleep out of his eyes. He went over to the table everyone was at.

“Good morning, Your Majesty,” said Daichi. “Kenma found what spell was used.”

Kageyama’s eyes widened. He was relieved, and went to the side of the table to look at the scroll.

Kenma coughed. "It's a paralyzing spell. It freezes everyone within 10 meters of the caster in all directions."

Hinata popped out from behind Bokuto. "How long does the spell last?"

Kenma shrugged. "It doesn't have a time limit. The spell can only be reversed with a counter spell."

"Hm, strange. Usually the counter spell has to be performed by the caster."

Everyone turned to look at Kiyoko.

"Wha... What?" squeaked Yachi.

"This counter spell is different. Anyone can perform it," replied Kiyoko.

Kenma leaned down and looked closer at the scroll. "It doesn't say that anywhere."

Kiyoko pointed to a small line of print at the bottom of the scroll.

Kuroo squeezed in beside Kenma and squinted at the words. "I can't read this..."

"It's in a different language. Kiyoko, you can read this?" asked Suga.

Kiyoko nodded. "This language is taught to mages. A large number of scrolls describing spells are written in it."

"Whoa, Kiyoko, that's so cool!" said Nishinoya.

"Anyway, this isn't a particularly easy counter spell. It requires a lot of different ingredients and procedures." Kenma rolled up the scroll.

"Also, a lot of the ingredients can only be found in different kingdoms."

Everyone stopped muttering to each other.

"Does that mean we're going to have to split up?" asked Nishinoya. He bounced on his toes beside Asahi.

Daichi nodded. "Not everyone is suited to be travelling around. We might encounter danger. I'm going to put together a team that can go collect the ingredients and bring them back to the castle."

"Captain, what about the rest of us? The ones who will stay in the castle," asked Suga.

"They will be just as important. It's necessary for people to watch over the castle while we're gone."

"How many people will be going?" Bokuto looped his arm around Akaashi protectively.

"There are 16 of us. Half and half. I think that's the best decision," answered Daichi.

"I agree, Captain." Iwaizumi wiped his face with his hand.

"I will decide on who's going and who's staying. It might take a while. All of you can go about your daily business. I'll call you when I have decided." Daichi walked off, with Suga following him.

Kageyama sighed and sat down in a chair. He wondered if he would be going to get the ingredients or staying in the castle.

He saw multiple people head out of the library, probably to go to their own rooms.

Iwaizumi and Oikawa settled down in a corner of the library at a little table, talking quietly to each other.

Hinata skipped over to him and sat down on the arm of his chair.

Kageyama looked at him. "What?"

"Do you think you'll be staying or going?" asked Hinata. He leaned forward over Kageyama and got up in his face.

Kageyama tried to stop himself from blushing. "Uh, well, I'll probably be going, since I'm the king and all."

"Me too! I'm an awesome guard, I'm sure Daichi will pick me to be part of the group."

Kageyama snorted. "Sure."

"What's that supposed to mean, Kageyama?" Hinata narrowed his eyes.

"Nothing, nothing." Kageyama stood up from his chair and stretched his arms above his head.

"Anyways, I'm going to go try to get some sleep in my room. I didn't sleep well last night with you hogging all the blanket."

Hinata made an undignified squawk.

Kageyama smirked and walked out of the library.

He managed to figure out how to get to his room after a few minutes, but not after seriously considering going back to the library to get directions. He had decided that it would be too embarrassing. What would Hinata and the others think of him? He was the King, and he needed to be capable of doing things by himself.

When he got to his room, he closed the door behind him and flopped onto his bed.  
His eyes drifted to the family picture on his nightstand and he turned it facedown. He couldn't look at it at a time like this without feeling like the worst king in history.

Kageyama covered his face with his pillow, groaning. He closed his eyes and tried to go to bed.

He didn't realize he'd fallen asleep until a sharp knock sounded on his door.

"Your Majesty? The captain wants everyone in the library.”

Kageyama scrambled out of his bed, opened the door, and followed Iwaizumi back to the library.

"Iwa-chan, you ran away. That was rude," said Oikawa as Kageyama and Iwaizumi entered the library.

Iwaizumi just looked at him and sat down.

Kageyama, seeing everyone was seated, quickly found a chair next to Hinata.

"Alright, everyone. Suga and I have finished making the groups." Daichi was standing in front of the group.

Everyone looked up anxiously at him. Kageyama could think of at least two people who would be dissatisfied with the groups no matter what.

"C'mon, Captain. Don't keep us waiting," said Kuroo with a grin.

Daichi laughed. "Okay. I will be leading the group getting the ingredients. Suga and Yachi are healers, so we should have one of them in each group. Suga will be coming with me and Yachi will stay in the castle."

Suga smiled and squeezed Daichi's arm.

Yachi sighed. Kageyama wondered if it was with relief or something else.

Daichi continued. "We will be taking one scribe. Kenma, you're coming with Suga and I. Akaashi, Asahi, you two will be staying to watch over the castle."

Kenma nodded. Asahi let out a breath.

"Noya, you'll be staying here."

"What? Why can't I go?" cried Nishinoya.

"I need you to stay and protect the castle. Please, Noya."

Nishinoya sighed. "Yes, Captain." He went to sit beside Asahi on the couch.

"Now. Bokuto, Kuroo, you too have been guards the longest. I need you to come with me."

Kuroo grinned and bumped Kenma's shoulder. "You're still stuck with me."

Bokuto nodded, but Kageyama saw his eyes flick to Akaashi, who was staring at his feet.

"We need an archer. Oikawa, you'll be coming. Kiyoko, Yamaguchi, you two stay and defend the castle."

Yamaguchi nodded enthusiastically. Oikawa smiled. "Great to be on the team, Captain."

"Tsukishima, you'll also be staying," added Daichi.

"Tsukki, you're with me!" said Yamaguchi happily.

"Shut up, Yamaguchi."

"Sorry, Tsukki!"

Daichi smiled at them.

Hinata jumped up and down impatiently. "Captain, what about me?"

"You and the king will be coming with me."

Hinata grinned and put his fist out to Kageyama.

It took Kageyama a minute to realize he was supposed to fist bump him in reply. He lifted his hand and bumped it gently against Hinata's.

"And last but not least, Iwaizumi, you'll be staying here."

Kageyama saw Oikawa choke on a breath.

"Now, everyone have a good night's sleep. We leave first thing tomorrow morning," said Daichi.

Kageyama sighed and left the library to go back to his room. Tomorrow was going to be a long day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had to split some of the pairs up. Sorry :)
> 
> If I made any mistakes please tell me!


	8. Departure

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sick again and I almost couldn't post but here we are
> 
> Enjoy the chapter!

Kageyama woke up, as he had expected, to a knock on his bedroom door.

“Coming!” He jumped out of bed and pulled on some clothes. He got everything he needed for the trip and shoved it into a bag.

He met Daichi and the others in the library before they all headed to the front gates to say goodbye.

The group leaving stood facing the rest of them. Iwaizumi walked up and pulled Oikawa towards him by the front of his shirt.

“You better come back okay, Oikawa.”

“Don’t worry, Iwa-chan! We’re just going to get some ingredients. It’ll be fine.”

Iwaizumi let go of him. “Promise me. Promise me you’ll stay safe.”

“I promise, Iwa-chan.”

Kageyama watched as Iwaizumi bit his lip before pulling Oikawa towards his chest and wrapping him in a hug.

Oikawa slid his hands around his friend’s waist.

Kageyama could tell they were both trying not to cry. He couldn’t help but feel bad.

Daichi was watching them with a guilty look on his face.

After a moment, they broke apart. Iwaizumi took a deep breath and shoved Oikawa towards the rest of them.

Kageyama looked at his group. Everyone seemed ready for the journey. 

He noticed that Bokuto had a faraway look in his eyes. He followed his gaze to Akaashi, who was standing behind the rest of the people who would be staying at the castle. 

Kageyama sighed. He had a feeling it was going to be inconvenient that Daichi had separated Bokuto and Akaashi.

Daichi coughed. “Alright everyone, if that’s all, we should be leaving.” He gestured to the wagon pulling up behind them. 

Kuroo, Kenma, Hinata, and Suga filed into the wagon. Kageyama followed them. 

Oikawa and Bokuto hesitated, looking back at the group in front of the castle. Daichi pushed them gently towards the wagon.

Kageyama sat down beside Hinata. It was squished with all eight of them in the wagon. Daichi and Suga were practically on top of each other, and Kageyama noticed that neither one of them looked like they minded. 

Kageyama realized that he was spending a lot of time observing everyone else when he should probably be figuring out how he was going to handle this situation.

He looked over at Hinata. Hinata noticed and turned to face him, brushing their knees together. 

“I can’t believe we’re going to a different kingdom, Kageyama. It’s so exciting!”

Kageyama nodded. Hinata smiled at him and nudged his arm.

“You could at least pretend to be excited, you know.”

Kageyama frowned. “It’s just… I’m kind of nervous.”

Hinata gasped. “The king is nervous?”

“Shut up.” Kageyama faced forward, deliberately not looking at Hinata. 

Daichi stood up and almost fell over when the wagon ran over a rock. Suga steadied him.

“Alright. Kenma, where do we need to go first?”

Kenma opened the scroll and Kuroo leaned into him to look at it. 

“We should head east. That’s the area where all the plants we need grow.” Kenma rolled up the scroll again and put it in his bag.

Daichi sat down. He rubbed the back of his neck. “Okay.” He looked at his map. “Here?”

Kenma leaned over and nodded. “It should take about an hour to get to where we need to go.”

Kageyama sighed. He leaned back on the bench and closed his eyes. 

“There’s the village!” chirped Hinata. 

Kageyama opened one eye out of curiosity. They were on a road leading straight through the village. He peered over the side of the wagon at the houses. He couldn’t help but feel fascinated by it. He had lived his whole life in the castle, only going outside in the castle court to train. 

A couple of villagers were standing on the edge of the road and watched in awe as the wagon passed by.

Hinata leaned over and waved at them. The villagers looked bewildered and Kageyama figured it was probably because of him. “Hey, shouldn’t you be kissing babies or something?” he whispered.

Kageyama glared at him and noticed that Hinata was still leaning on top of him. He shoved Hinata to the side. “Get off, idiot.”

Hinata blushed and climbed back into his spot. 

Suga smiled at them and whispered something to Daichi, who laughed in return.

Kageyama frowned and turned back to the road. The wagon turned right and they left the village behind. 

The road became thinner and trees loomed over them. Kenma quietly pointed out the different types to Kuroo, who nodded along.

Kageyama scratched his head. He wondered how long it was going to take for them to get to where they needed to be, but he didn’t want to bother anyone by asking.

He rubbed his eyes. So far this trip was nothing special. He was just wasting his time. 

Hinata yawned beside him and stretched out his arms. Kageyama yawned too, and decided to take a nap until they got to their destination.

He leaned back and drifted off to sleep.

He woke up when the wagon hit a bump in the road. Hinata’s head was resting on his shoulder.

Kageyama blushed. He looked down at Hinata’s sleeping form. Hinata’s cheeks were flushed and his legs were crossed on the seat. His chest gently rose and fell as he breathed quietly.

A snore was heard from the opposite side of the wagon. Kageyama looked up and saw that Bokuto was sleeping, as well as Kenma, who was curled up against Kuroo’s side.

Oikawa was still staring mournfully out of the wagon and Daichi and Suga were talking quietly.

Hinata shifted beside him and lifted his head. “Kageyama? Are we there yet?”

Kageyama shook his head. “No. You fell asleep, by the way.”

“I know. You make a good pillow.” Hinata smiled at him.

“Whatever.”

Daichi stood up again. “Everyone, we’re almost there. Be prepared to exit the wagon.” 

A few minutes later, the wagon slowed to a stop. Daichi got out first, extending a hand to Suga and helping him out of the wagon.

Bokuto and Oikawa followed them, along with Hinata. Kageyama watched as Kuroo tried to wake Kenma up. After no success, he picked him up in his arms and carried him out of the wagon.

Kageyama was the last to leave the wagon. He joined the others on the side of the road. 

Daichi waved goodbye to the driver. “Bye, Kinoshita! Safe travels!”

The driver waved back at them before turning around and driving back down the path. 

Daichi turned to the group. “Okay. Where do we need to go first?”

Everyone turned to Kuroo, who was still carrying Kenma. He gently pushed his hair out of his face. “Kenma, wake up.”

Kenma stirred and opened his eyes. Noticing where he was, he immediately turned red. “Kuro, put me down now. I mean it.”

Kuroo let Kenma down onto the ground, smiling. “We want to know where we need to go first.”

Kenma grumbled and pointed towards the forest. “Straight in there, that’s where all the plants grow.”

Daichi nodded slightly and adjusted the sword hilt strapped to his belt. “Well then, let’s go. We don’t have any time to waste.” He turned on his heel and headed towards the forest.

Suga immediately followed him, but the rest of them stood there, hesitant. Kageyama didn’t like the look of the forest. It gave him a weird feeling.

But nevertheless, when the rest of the group walked into the dark woods, he couldn’t do anything else but follow them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Um actual things will be happening in the next chapters so that's fun
> 
> If I made any mistakes feel free to comment


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was so unnecessary tbh. Whatever.

Kageyama trudged along the path through the forest. The foliage was overgrown and he got scratched by branches several times.

Daichi led the group with Kenma and Suga, Kuroo trailing close behind. Kageyama walked slowly behind them with Hinata skipping a little bit in front of him and Oikawa and Bokuto in the far back.

Kageyama watched as Hinata tripped over a tree root and fell flat on his face. Kageyama muffled a snicker.

Hinata glared at him from his spot on the ground. "Oh, shut up, Kageyama!"

Kageyama burst into laughter.

Hinata grumbled and when Kageyama went to continue down the path, he stuck out his leg and tripped him.

Kageyama fell down beside him. "Oi, you idiot! That hurt!"

Hinata smiled sweetly at him and got up. He stretched his hand out, offering to help Kageyama up.

Kageyama grabbed his hand and hauled himself off the forest floor.

He dusted off his clothes and realized that he couldn't see the others anymore. He looked behind them. Bokuto and Oikawa weren't there.

"Hinata..."

Hinata looked around in panic. "Where'd everyone go? Captain? Kenma? Bokuto? Anyone!"

Kageyama took a deep breath. They weren't lost, just a little turned around. He was sure that if they kept heading forward they would catch up to the others eventually.

Hinata grabbed his hand suddenly. "Kageyama, c'mon! We gotta find them!"

He started running in the direction the group had been heading before. Kageyama followed him to avoid getting his arm pulled out of its socket.

Hinata kept running, and Kageyama noticed that the woods were getting darker and darker.

"Hinata, wait." They slowed to a stop.

"What?"

"Look." It was almost pitch black in the forest, save for the light from a couple of fireflies.

"Why is it so dark?" asked Hinata. He stuck his finger out and a firefly landed on it.

Kageyama shrugged. He had no idea where they were and how to get to the others. They didn't even have a map.

Hinata sat down on a patch of moss. "What are we going to do?" he said, but Kageyama had a feeling that it wasn't directed at him. Hinata kept talking, but Kageyama tuned him out.

He sat down on the ground too and rested his head on his knees. Why did he have such bad luck? Stuck in the middle of a dark forest with an annoying guy who wouldn't shut his mouth.

"Kageyama, Kageyama! Where are the others? Are we lost?"

Kageyama snapped. "Can you shut the hell up for one second? Just one?" he shouted.

Hinata recoiled, looking surprised and a little scared.

Kageyama sighed and put his face in his hands. He hadn't meant to turn the last person left against him. Now he was truly alone. He blinked angry tears out of his eyes.

"Kageyama?"

He tilted his head up slightly. Hinata was kneeling in front of him.

"I... I'm sorry. I didn't mean to yell at you." Kageyama rubbed the back of his neck.

“Why are you apologizing? That’s weird.”

Kageyama stood up. "Idiot. We should get out of here. I have a bad feeling about this part of the forest."

Hinata scrambled to his feet. "Right!"

They stood there awkwardly. Kageyama realized he had no idea which way to go.

Hinata furrowed his brow. "I think we came from... This way?"

Kageyama nodded and followed him.

After a couple minutes of walking through the cold forest, they heard voices.

"Captain!" Hinata cried. He started running towards the voices.

"Ah! Wait up, idiot!" Kageyama ran after him.

Daichi and the others were standing in a clearing. Kenma, Oikawa, and Suga were picking plants while Kuroo and Daichi stood guard.

Kageyama and Hinata entered the clearing.

"Did you two get lost?" asked Kuroo slyly.

"We fell and got left behind," explained Kageyama.

Daichi nodded. "We found the plants. We should be heading north now."

"Is Kinoshita taking us there?" asked Hinata.

Daichi shook his head. "We'll have to walk."

Kageyama sighed. He wasn't exactly the best at travelling by foot.

Kenma and the others finished gathering the plants into a small bag and joined the rest of them at the edge of the clearing.

"We have to go north now, is that right, Kenma?" asked Kuroo.

Kenma nodded. "To get the eye of a yeti."

"What!?" cried Oikawa. "A yeti?" 

Kuroo grinned at his comrade’s discomfort. “Yeti, Abominable Snowman, Sasquatch, Bigfoot, whatever. They're all the same thing!” 

Oikawa glanced nervously at Kenma for confirmation.

Kenma nodded again. “A yeti. Also known as an Abominable Snowman. But they're a separate species from Bigfoot, which is a Sasquatch. Just the same family.”

Daichi shrugged. "Let's go. It will take us a while by foot, but we should be able to reach the nearest mountain in a day or so, I’m guessing"

Everyone grabbed their bags, got into pairs for the trek, and they headed off.

They stopped after a little while to rest. Kageyama sat down on a tree stump.

Hinata's stomach growled loudly. "Hey, did we bring any food?"

Daichi nodded. He went to his bag and distributed food to everyone. "Sorry it's so little, we have to save it for the rest of the journey."

Suga smiled and put a hand on his shoulder. "Don't worry about it. We'll be fine."

Hinata accepted the food happily and quickly polished it off.

Kageyama noticed that Oikawa was pacing and whispering to himself. He also refused when Daichi offered him some food, saying he didn't need it.

Daichi shook his head disapprovingly but didn't push him.

Kenma and Kuroo were hunched over the map.

"The nearest mountain is about 7 kilometres away," said Kenma. "It shouldn't take us more than an hour to get there."

“Oh,” said Daichi. “I guess I was way off.”

"Good. The sooner we can get back to the castle the better," muttered Bokuto, who was stretching a little bit away from the group.

Kageyama sighed. Bokuto and Oikawa seemed to be getting restless. He wondered if Daichi would cut the mission short if things got too stressful for them.

"Is everyone finished their food? We should get going before it gets too dark." Daichi stood up and slung his bag over his shoulder.

Kageyama and the others got up and followed him as they continued down the path towards the mountain.


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We have a four day weekend and I am SO HAPPY. I'm gonna be able to get a lot of work done.
> 
> There is some mild violence in this chapter, just to let everyone know.

“I can’t see anything! Are we there yet?” grumbled Hinata.

“I can light a torch if you want, Hinata,” offered Daichi.

“We should be in the right area, the problem is actually finding a yeti.” Kenma appeared from behind Kuroo. 

“Has anyone seen Oikawa? I was walking with him in the back but he disappeared,” said Bokuto. He turned around and looked behind him for a second.

“Um, maybe he went to take a whiz?” Kuroo said hesitantly.

Kenma shrugged. “He shouldn’t be going off on his own, especially with the threat of yetis.”

“Threat?!” exclaimed Hinata. He shivered and looked concernedly at Kenma. 

“Yetis aren’t naturally aggressive, but with a big group in their territory who knows what might happen.” Kenma shrugged again. 

A sharp crack sounded from in the woods. Kageyama squinted in the dark.

“Did you guys hear that?” asked Bokuto, sounding worried.

“Daichi, light the torch quick.”

Daichi nodded as Suga reached into his bag and handed him a stick and a cloth. He wrapped the cloth around the end of the stick and lit it ablaze, lighting up the area around their group. 

Everyone whirled around in different directions, trying to find the source of the noise. Hinata shuffled a little closer to Kageyama. 

Kageyama stood, frozen with shock as he looked at the clearing in front of the mountain they stood near.

A yeti was around 10 meters away from the group. Its pale fur shone in the moonlight and it was an imposing creature, standing tall and intimidating, a limp figure dangling from its jaws.

“Is that… Oikawa?” asked Bokuto, voice slightly quivering. 

Daichi nodded solemnly. He drew his sword, leading the other guards to do the same. 

Kenma grabbed his bag and moved back several steps. Kageyama figured it was because he wasn’t going to fight. Suga stayed far behind as well. 

Kageyama also stepped back a little, telling himself he would join the fight if the others looked like they needed a hand.

He figured they could definitely handle it without him, though. Not like he was much use in a fight anyway, and the only weapon he had brought was his mom’s old hunting knife.

The group stood still, waiting for the yeti to move or attack them.

It tightened its jaws around Oikawa and turned to leave towards the mountain. Daichi nodded towards the group and they moved to attack. Kageyama noticed they were all very synchronized with their movements. He figured they had probably done something like this before.

Hinata ran off to the far left and in front of the creature, distracting it as Daichi moved to attack the creature’s legs. 

Bokuto and Kuroo ran to jump onto the yeti’s back and take it down. 

“Damn!” shouted Bokuto as he got knocked off. 

The yeti tried to scratch at his back but ended up kicking out towards Daichi who was stabbing at its legs. 

Kuroo managed to stay on as the creature stumbled towards Hinata, who had taken off towards the mountain in order to lead it away from Daichi, who was now lying on the ground. 

“Daichi!” Suga rushed towards him and pulled him away from the battle.

Daichi coughed. “Suga, I’m fine. Don’t worry.” 

Suga looked at him doubtfully, but helped him to his feet. Daichi ran back to help the others.

Kageyama held his breath. The yeti was moving slowly towards Hinata, who was running back and forth in front of it. 

The yeti roared loudly, dropping Oikawa to the ground. Kuroo leapt off its back, picked up Oikawa and started running back to where Kenma, Suga, and Kageyama were standing. 

Kuroo lay Oikawa down on the snow. Suga knelt down to inspect him.

Daichi looked back and yelled to Hinata. “Come back!”

“But Captain, we don’t have the eye!” Hinata dodged a swipe from the yeti.

“Hinata, that’s not important right now!”

“I can get it!” He ran around and jumped onto the yeti’s back. It roared again. Hinata managed to climb onto its head. He drew his sword and gouged out the yeti’s right eye.

Hinata leapt off its back and ran back to the rest of the group. He held up the eye, a triumphant grin on his face.

Suga cleared his throat. “Guys, Oikawa’s seriously hurt. We need to get back to the castle.”

Everyone turned to look at him. Daichi scratched his head. “We can’t get back in less than 5 hours…”

“I… I might be able to help,” said Kenma softly.

Kuroo turned to him. “Oh, that’s right! You have that spell.”

“What spell?” asked Hinata. 

“Oh. It’s nothing special, it’ll just let us fly for a little bit. Not individually though, we all have to be holding onto each other.”

Kenma reached into his bag and pulled out a sack of golden powder, which he sprinkled around the group. Kuroo picked up the unconscious Oikawa and took Kenma’s hand. The rest of them all joined hands in a circle.

Kenma muttered a few words under his breath, and Kageyama gasped as they rose off the ground.

They soared through the air, above the forest. Kageyama tightened his grip on Hinata’s hand.

A few minutes later, Kenma managed to land safely on the outskirts of the village. Bokuto ran over and threw up into a bush.

Kuroo grimaced. “I guess flying isn’t for everyone.”

The group entered the village and knocked on the door of the nearest house. A middle aged woman opened the door and looked at them in confusion. 

“I’m sorry, can I help you boys?”

Suga stepped in front of the group. “Sorry to bother you. Our friend is injured, and we need a place to rest.”

The woman still looked puzzled, but ushered them inside. She caught a glimpse of Kageyama and bowed. “Your Majesty.” 

She closed the door behind them and led them to a small bedroom. Suga thanked her, and Kuroo lay Oikawa down on the bed.

The woman stepped out of the room and yelled up the staircase. “Fumiko! We have visitors!”

Another woman came running down the stairs and stopped just outside the room. “Who is it?”

“The king and some others. Their friend is injured.”

Suga whispered something to Daichi. Daichi nodded and went over to the two women. 

“Do you by any chance have some medical supplies? We have some, but not enough.”

Fumiko nodded. “I’ll see what we have.”

Kuroo led Hinata, Bokuto, Kenma, and Kageyama out of the room to give Suga some space to heal Oikawa.

They settled into the living room. The woman who had opened the door came in. 

“Would you like some tea?”

“Yes, thank you,” said Kuroo. The woman smiled and turned to go to the kitchen.

“My name is Sayuri, by the way. If you need anything else, feel free to ask.”

Kuroo thanked her again and a silence fell over the room once she left. 

Kageyama sighed and sank deeper into the couch. They had to contact the others at the castle soon. It hadn’t even been a day and there had already been a huge incident. Not including the fact that everyone in the ballroom was paralyzed. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I apologize for hurting Oikawa.
> 
> I'm going to include chapters from other points of view, not just Kageyama's, but only if it's essential. Next chapter is Iwaizumi because I'm sure everyone wants to see what's going on with the group at the castle.


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm really sorry this is a day late, some stuff happened. 
> 
> Also, I might just start posting chapters on Sunday and not Thursday, but I'll try my best. School is hard and I'm just tired, so I apologize if updates are late sometimes. 
> 
> Enjoy this chapter!

Iwaizumi paced the length of the library. Akaashi was sitting quietly and sorting through scrolls. 

Iwaizumi was getting impatient. Deep down he knew that the mission could take more than one day, but it was still nagging at him.

He wondered how the others were doing. He wondered—hoped—that Oikawa was doing okay. 

At that moment, Nishinoya and Tsukishima came in from guard duty. Tsukishima looked annoyed and frankly, quite exhausted. 

“Anything out of the ordinary?” asked Iwaizumi.

Nishinoya shook his head. “Everything’s great!”

Iwaizumi nodded. He decided to leave the library and go check on the girls in the dungeon. He opened the large library door and started off down the castle halls.

A few minutes later, he heard shouts from behind him. 

“Iwaizumi! Iwaizumi!”

He spun around and saw Yamaguchi running toward him down the hallway. Yamaguchi stopped in front of him to catch his breath and then looked up.

“Sir, Hinata is here.”

Iwaizumi thanked him and quickly made his way to the front gates. Hinata was waiting there and waved weakly when he saw Iwaizumi.

“Iwaizumi, hello.”

“Did you run all the way here, Hinata?”

Hinata nodded. “It’s not a big deal. I’m fine. I have news to deliver.”

“Get to the point, where is everyone else?”

Hinata shifted his weight to his left foot and scratched his head. “They’re in the village.”

“What?”

Hinata looked uncomfortable. 

Iwaizumi sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. “Tell me.”

“It’s Oikawa.”

Iwaizumi’s head snapped up and he stepped closer to the orange-haired guard.

Hinata drew a surprised breath.

“What happened, Hinata?”

“He’s hurt.”

Iwaizumi turned away and took a moment to regain his composure. He checked that he had his sword and nodded to himself.

He then started to run, as fast as his legs would carry him, down towards the village.

It was mostly downhill, so running wasn’t hard. Iwaizumi felt his heartbeat, threatening to tear his chest open. His ears were ringing.

When he arrived in the village, he realized he had no idea where they were all staying. Luckily, Kuroo was positioned outside the door of the house, and Iwaizumi spotted him. He ran to the house and flung the door open. 

He heard Kuroo say something, but it didn’t register.

Kageyama, Kenma, and Bokuto were sitting in the living room and they looked up at him with concern.

“Where’s Oikawa?” Iwaizumi said, unaware if he was shouting or whispering. 

Kenma pointed towards a room deeper into the house. Iwaizumi ran to the door but was stopped by a woman. 

“Young man, what are you doing here?”

Kuroo appeared. “Sayuri, he’s with us. Let him in the room.”

Sayuri sighed and let Iwaizumi open the door. “He needs rest…”

His eyes landed on the bed in the middle of the room, where Oikawa was lying. Suga was beside the bed, treating him. Daichi was also in the room, sitting on an armchair near the bed. 

Suga turned and looked up at Iwaizumi. “Ah…”

Iwaizumi suddenly felt very nervous. “Can I…?” he asked, his voice quiet and hesitant.

Suga nodded. “I just finished up. He should be okay, but… He’s been unconscious this whole time.”

Iwaizumi went over to the bed and gasped softly when he saw Oikawa up close. He had wounds in his stomach and legs, and his skin was paler than usual. His hair was plastered to his head with sweat and his eyelids were closed.

Iwaizumi choked. He took a deep breath to calm himself and gently ran his hand through Oikawa’s soft, brown hair. 

Suga pulled Daichi out of the room and said, “Tell me if he wakes up,” before closing the door behind them. Iwaizumi was grateful that they gave him some time alone with Oikawa, even if he was unconscious.

He sat down cross legged beside the bed and propped his head up on the edge of the bed. He stared at Oikawa’s expressionless face, and realized that he didn’t even know how it had happened. Tears pricked the corners of his eyes.

Iwaizumi found Oikawa’s hand amidst the covers and laced their fingers, giving his friend’s hand a gentle squeeze. 

When Iwaizumi eyes drifted closed, the only thing he could hope was that when he opened them, Oikawa would have woken up.

***

“Iwa-chan?” 

Iwaizumi groggily opened his eyes, disoriented. He had no clue where he was, and the only thing he saw was Oikawa’s face.

Oikawa. He was awake.

“Iwa-chan, you’re holding my hand.”

Iwaizumi scrambled to his feet, dropping Oikawa’s hand. He opened the door and called for Suga.

Turning back to Oikawa, he crossed his arms and asked, “How long have you been awake?”

“Oh, just a few minutes. You were so cute, Iwa-chan, drooling all over the bed.”

“I do not drool, Shittykawa!”

Oikawa just laughed as Suga entered the room. He knelt beside the bed and checked Oikawa’s vitals. 

Suga smiled at Iwaizumi. “Everything is in order. He should rest for a little before doing anything though.”

“Thank you so much,” said Iwaizumi.

Oikawa hummed as he started to stand up, but Iwaizumi grabbed his shoulders and guided him back onto the bed.

“Didn’t you hear what he said, idiot? You need to rest.”

“I want to at least know what happened to me. Everything is sort of a blur.”

Iwaizumi sighed and brought Daichi in.

“Oh, well, I’m not really sure. Bokuto lost track of you and then we found you in a yeti’s mouth.”

“What?!” exclaimed Iwaizumi. He looked angrily at Oikawa. “You separated from the group?”

“I told you, Iwa-chan, I don’t remember!” Oikawa buried his face in his pillow.

Iwaizumi rubbed his eyes and sighed. Daichi left the room, insisting Oikawa get some rest, and Iwaizumi was about to follow him, but a hand grabbed his wrist.

“Iwa-chan… Can you stay?”

“Of course.” He pulled the armchair right up to the side of the bed and sat down. Oikawa extended his hand as Iwaizumi took it.

Oikawa smiled and closed his eyes, drifting off into sleep. Iwaizumi watched him before falling asleep as well.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Catch me straying far from the plot and just writing fluff. 
> 
> Feel free to comment if you have anything to say!


	12. Discussions

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I actually managed to post! I wrote a bunch on the weekend, so I might actually be able to keep up with my schedule.

Kageyama squirmed on the couch. Suga and Daichi were now in the living room along with the room. He assumed they had wanted to leave Iwaizumi and Oikawa alone. 

Kuroo was still pacing around the house, making sure everyone was okay. Eventually Kenma had to force him to sit down.  
“Sit down. No one's going anywhere.”

Kageyama looked up from the ground when Bokuto started to whine. 

“Are we going back to the castle after this?” He was dramatically spread out on one of the couches. “I want to see Akaashi,” he added in a quieter voice.

Suga looked over at Daichi. Daichi sighed.

“We will be going back to the castle once Oikawa is well enough to move. I think that will be for the best.”

Kuroo sat up straight in the chair, startling Kenma. “What about the rest of the ingredients for the spell? We need them to unfreeze everybody, we can’t just give up on the mission…”

“We’ll figure something out, I promise. Right now I think we all just need to regroup at the castle.” Daichi sighed and pressed a hand to his forehead. Suga gently set his hand on his shoulder.

“Hey guys, I just realized we’re the only ones who know about what’s going on in the castle. The whole village is still in the dark,” Bokuto said.

Kageyama had realized that too, but decided to not tell anyone. He figured it was better if the villagers didn’t know. He didn’t want to worry them.

“That’s right. Now that I think about it, they deserve to know what’s going on.” Suga picked at his bottom lip.

“No!” exclaimed Kageyama.

Everyone instantly looked at him. He began spluttering.

“Ah, no, I just mean… I don’t want any of the villagers to be worried.” He rubbed the back of his neck, embarrassed. 

Suga and Daichi smiled at each other. “I think that’s very kind of you, Your Majesty,” said Suga.

Kageyama blushed and tried to hide his face, glaring at the ground. He could hear Kuroo laughing in the background. 

“So the king does have a heart!”

Daichi cleared his throat and everyone quieted down. “I understand your concern, Your Majesty, but I do think it’s necessary for the villagers to know. Even if it doesn’t directly affect them, they are a part of this kingdom and they should know.”

Kageyama, who was in no mood to argue, simply nodded. He wasn’t surprised when everyone else agreed with Daichi. 

He was surprised, however, when Suga said that Kageyama had to be the one to tell the village.

“Why me?” he asked. Why not Daichi, who had the natural skills of a leader, or Suga even, who could handle things like this? Anyone but him.

“Kageyama, you’re the king. Their ruler. This can’t come from anyone else.” Daichi patted him gently on the back and smiled reassuringly.

Kageyama sighed. “But how am I supposed to do this? Call a village meeting or something?”

Daichi furrowed his brow. “I suppose we could do that once we get back to the castle. Send some messengers…” He trailed off, talking to himself.

Sayuri and Fumiko came and sat down with the rest of them. 

“I heard you all talking, and I hope you don’t mind me asking, but what did you mean when you said you had to unfreeze everybody?” asked Sayuri.

Daichi sighed. “I guess you would’ve found out anyways. A spell went wrong in the castle, resulting in the paralysis of everyone in the ballroom.”

Fumiko shook her head. “Mages, always getting into trouble…”

“With all due respect, one of our friends is a mage. They aren’t all bad,” said Suga, looking more serious than Kageyama had ever seen them.

Sayuri laughed. “No, my wife doesn’t mean it like that. Her brother was a mage too. In fact, so am I. So you can see that Fumiko has clearly had to deal with a fair amount of damage caused by magic.”

“Do you remember when you turned the kitchen table into a cat? Or that time Hiroki came over and you both managed to set the laundry on fire? And I foolishly thought that once we were adults you too would become more responsible.”

Fumiko glared at Sayuri, but Kageyama noted that there wasn’t any malice in her eyes.

Kuroo and Bokuto were dying of laughter. 

“Oh man, a cat for a kitchen table? Imagine…” Bokuto almost fell off the couch and Kuroo burst into another fit of laughter. Kenma, who was sitting beside him, just rolled his eyes.

“You two can be so immature.”

Sayuri smiled at them. “So, there is a counter spell, right? You can turn everyone back to normal?”

Suga nodded. “We were out getting the ingredients, that’s how our friend got hurt.”

Kageyama listened quietly along to their conversation, dreading announcing the news to the village. He wondered what would happen with the mission once they got back to the castle. He knew they were still missing multiple ingredients and they needed all of them to perform the spell. 

He was brought back into the real world when a loud thump sounded from the direction of Oikawa’s room. Everyone heard Oikawa’s voice saying, “I don’t need help, Iwa-chan, I can walk fine!” followed by Iwaizumi shouting, “Says the guy who just fell on his face!”

Everyone was trying not to laugh when Iwaizumi came into the living room alone. “Oikawa is out of bed.”

“Iwa-chan, you can’t just leave me on the floor!”

Iwaizumi pinched the bridge of his nose. “I thought you didn’t need help.”

Kageyama stifled a laugh. Iwaizumi looked apologetically at everyone in the living room.

“Excuse me for a second.”

Kageyama heard Oikawa whine, “Why are you like this, Iwa-chan?”

Iwaizumi returned seconds later, holding up a very annoyed Oikawa. 

Suga clapped his hands. “Glad to see you’re feeling better, Oikawa.”

Oikawa gave a strained smile and Iwaizumi helped him over to the last empty couch, where they both sat down.

“So, what’s happening?” asked Iwaizumi.

Daichi told him about the plans to go back to the castle and hold a village meeting so Kageyama could inform everyone about the situation. 

“Hold on, we’re going back to the castle?” Oikawa looked around at everybody. “What about the mission?”

“We’ll regroup at the castle and figure out what to do next,” Daichi answered reassuringly.

“Hinata’s still at the castle,” Kageyama mused quietly.

“Oikawa, when do you think you’ll be able to make the trip?” asked Kuroo.

Oikawa shrugged and Suga scratched his head. “I think it’s best to give him one more night.”

“Sayuri, Fumiko, do you mind if we stay the night here? I know, there’s a lot of us, but…”

Sayuri smiled at them. “Don’t worry about it, we have plenty of space.” 

Everyone thanked her. Fumiko brought blankets so they could sleep in the living room, except for Oikawa, who stayed in the bed he had recovered in, and Iwaizumi, who insisted on sleeping in the same room as him. 

Kageyama pulled a blanket over himself and curled up on the couch. Daichi and Suga were on the second couch, Kuroo and Kenma on the last one and Bokuto stretched out on the floor. 

Sayuri put out the lamps and said goodnight before going upstairs. 

“Goodnight, everyone.” Kageyama heard Suga’s voice echo throughout the room. 

They all said goodnight and Kageyama drifted off into a deep sleep, exhausted from the day’s events.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay so things are getting kind of confusing. If you don't understand something, feel free to ask me in the comments and I'll gladly explain it to you.
> 
> Until next chapter!
> 
> p.s. I discovered dark mode and my eyes are thanking me
> 
> p.p.s If anyone wants to beta for me that would be much appreciated, since my friends gave up on me.


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay so there isn't going to be anything interesting happening for a few chapters. I really don't know where I'm going with this fic. Sigh.

Unknown to the rest of the group, Kageyama was not a morning person. So when Kuroo shook him awake at 6:30AM, he was not prepared for Kageyama’s sudden outburst.

Kageyama started to yell about how he needed more sleep, and kicked out with both his legs, catching Kuroo’s arm. 

Kuroo stumbled backwards. Kageyama realized that he wasn’t in his own bed at the castle and sat up, startled.

The previous day came back to him in a rush and he realized where he was. 

Kuroo was still standing near the couch Kageyama was sleeping on, looking startled and confused.

Bokuto was snickering from the dinner table, where he and Kenma were already sitting.

Kageyama realized what he had done and pulled the covers over his head in embarrassment. He got up a few minutes later when he smelled food.

The dinner table could luckily fit all of them, and Fumiko’s cooking was amazing.

“You didn’t have to do all of this for us, you know,” Daichi said, after thanking her for the food for what seemed like the thousandth time. 

“You’re our guests,” Fumiko said, smiling brightly.

Sayuri nodded. “We haven’t had people over in a long time, so this is actually good for us.”

They finished up with breakfast and everyone helped clean up before getting their bags. They all crowded around the front door while Daichi made sure everybody had everything they needed.

Sayuri and Fumiko waved at them as they left the house. 

“Thank you for everything! We’ll visit!” called Suga as they were leaving.

Sayuri laughed.

They started walking down the cobblestone path leading to the castle. Kageyama remembered that it was uphill and sighed. He adjusted his bag on his shoulder and kept walking. 

Kenma was reading a scroll while walking and Kuroo stopped him from crashing into at least two walls. 

There was the occasional villager walking around, and they always bowed when Kageyama walked by. He did his best to smile and look presentable, but it was a struggle, considering he had woken up at 6:30 that morning.

When they were about halfway, Oikawa began to have trouble breathing. Iwaizumi had been by his side the entire time, ready to help if he started to have a hard time walking.

“You guys keep going, we’ll catch up.” Iwaizumi led Oikawa to the side of the road where he sat down.

Daichi looked at them for a second before nodding and leading the group onward. Suga pursed his lips and looked back at them. 

“I thought Oikawa’s condition had improved.”

Daichi put an arm around his waist. “Don’t worry about it, he’s still recovering. It’s bound to happen.”

Suga nodded but looked doubtful.

Kageyama could see the castle up ahead. He squinted at the little blur of orange that was standing in front of the gates. Was that… Hinata? 

Bokuto seemed to have noticed him too because he increased his speed. 

“Dude, wait up!” Kuroo followed after his friend, dragging Kenma along with him.

Kageyama sighed and kept walking at his normal pace. No way he was going to get exhausted running to greet everyone at the castle. Nevertheless, his heart rate quickened with excitement.

They finally reached the castle and Kageyama could hear Bokuto and Hinata shouting at each other about who knows what.

“Let’s all go to the library to meet up, okay?” Daichi said.

Hinata nodded forcefully. “I’ll get the others!”

Daichi, Suga, Kuroo, Kenma, Bokuto, and Kageyama entered the library. Bokuto screeched incoherently when he saw Akaashi working quietly at a table. Not seconds later, Akaashi got swept up in his arms. 

“Bokuto, you’ve been gone for two days.”

“That’s two days too long!” 

Akaashi rolled his eyes but hugged his friend back. Asahi and Nishinoya were also in the library and greeted the others.

They all settled into the library and Hinata arrived a couple of minutes later with Yachi, Kiyoko, Tsukishima, and Yamaguchi. 

“Tsukki! We missed you dearly!” exclaimed Kuroo.

Tsukishima pressed his fingers to his temples. “God, please end my life.”

Yamaguchi nudged him in the shoulder. “Tsukki, don’t say that.”

Daichi stood in the middle of the room. “I assume Hinata told you all what happened.”

Everyone nodded solemnly. Yamaguchi asked, “Is Oikawa okay?”

“Of course, he’s fine.” Suga said.

“Where is Oikawa?” asked Akaashi.

Daichi scratched his head. “He was having some trouble breathing so him and Iwaizumi stopped, but they should be here soon.”

As if on cue, the door to the library opened and Iwaizumi entered, carrying Oikawa on his back. 

Oikawa waved joyfully to everyone in the library. “Did you miss me? Iwa-chan is being nice to me, isn’t that a surprise?”

“Shut up or I’ll drop you, Shittykawa.”

Oikawa pouted and pressed his face into the back of Iwaizumi’s neck.

The two of them sat down on a chair and Iwaizumi gestured for Daichi to continue talking.

“Anyways, we wanted to come back to the castle to talk about everything. Since our mission got interrupted and we don’t have all the ingrédients for the spell, we’re going to need to go out again.”

Daichi paused to take a breath. Suga nodded, urging him on. 

“Suga and I were talking last night and we figured it would be better to send a smaller group this time, to avoid any more incidents.”

Everyone looked at Oikawa, who just giggled.

“Kiyoko, Yachi, we want you two to go. Kiyoko can read the scroll better than any of us, and you’re a healer.”

Yachi looked terrified. “Just the two of us? All alone?”

Daichi laughed. “No, don’t worry. I’m sending Hinata and the king along with you.”

It was Kageyama’s turn to be startled. Hinata smiled at him from across the room and he returned the smile weakly. He didn’t know what other ingredients needed to be collected, but he figured the team had been collecting the easiest ones first and the rest were going to be much more difficult to find.

“You four can make plans all of today, and leave tomorrow morning. As for the village meeting we were talking about, we can hold that once you guys get back.” Daichi finished and dismissed everyone. 

Kageyama sighed. He put his face in his hands, feeling exhaustion creep in. They had just gotten back and now he had to leave again. With two people he barely knew and Hinata, that idiot. 

“Great,” Kageyama muttered to himself. “This is going to be so fun.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tbh I might just delete this, it's not interesting.


	14. Chapter 14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heya I'm back! Thanks to everyone who commented last chapter, it really encouraged me to keep writing this!
> 
> Enjoy!

After everyone went their separate ways, Hinata went across the library to sit near Kageyama. Yachi and Kiyoko took the hint and joined the two. 

“So, what are we going to do?” asked Hinata. He was looking pointedly at Kageyama.

Kageyama rubbed his eyes. He didn’t want to be the one they were all counting on during this mission. Out of all of them, he was the least skilled.

He shrugged. 

Kiyoko pulled out the scroll with the counterspell on it, which she had gotten from Kenma. Hinata and Yachi turned to her. 

Kageyama noticed how Hinata looked at the older girl and pushed down a flicker of jealousy. 

“We only need to collect three more ingredients. Salamander saliva, an olive branch, and black trumpet mushrooms. That shouldn’t be too hard.”

Yachi nodded. “Where can we find everything?”

Kiyoko pursed her lips, thinking for a minute. Kageyama looked at Hinata, who was fidgeting in his armchair. Kageyama noticed he had dark circles under his eyes. He wondered if Hinata had been getting enough sleep before this had all happened. 

Hinata saw Kageyama staring at him and smiled in his general direction. Kageyama would have to confront him about it later, somewhere more private. 

“Salamanders are native to our neighbouring kingdom, so I think we should head there first. I suppose we can find olive trees there too, if I remember correctly.”

Kiyoko squinted at the scroll and pushed her glasses up on her nose. “And we can find the mushrooms just about anywhere in the woods, since they’re wild.”

Kageyama reviewed everything in his head. The mission shouldn’t take too long, if they didn’t dawdle. 

He nodded. “Okay, so I guess that’s settled.” He rose from his chair, ready to go back to the safety and comfort of his own room.

Unfortunately, Hinata seemed to think that he could follow Kageyama out of the library. Kageyama spun around and looked Hinata in the face. 

“What are you doing?”

Hinata shrugged. “I’m bored.”

“Go somewhere else then.” Kageyama turned back around and kept walking. 

“What does your room look like?”

Kageyama sighed deeply. “Didn’t I tell you to leave me alone?”

“Why are you so boring, Kageyama?”

Kageyama sighed. If he let Hinata come to his room, he could ask him if he was getting enough sleep. 

“Fine.” He got to his room, Hinata right behind him as he opened the door. Hinata pushed past him to get into the room and stood right in the center, slowly turning around.

Kageyama stood in the doorway, watching him.

Hinata walked over to the nightstand and knelt down to look at the picture of Kageyama and his parents. 

“Is this you?” he said without turning around. 

Kageyama nodded. He sat down on his bed.

“Did you ever find out what happened to them?” asked Hinata quietly. He was still staring at the photo, a distant look in his eyes. 

“No.”

Kageyama had never talked about his parents with anyone after they went missing, mostly because a lot of people had hope that they were still alive somewhere. 

“Well, they aren’t dead for sure, right?”

Apparently Hinata was one of those people. 

Kageyama shifted on his bed. “Can we not talk about this?”

Hinata frowned and stood up. “Why not? Don’t you want to believe they could still come back?”

“No! I don’t! Because if I get my hopes up, they’ll get shattered again, just like when—” He cut himself off. 

“Like when…?” Hinata looked at him, intrigued.

Kageyama turned away from him. “Nothing. I’d like it if you left now.”

“But…”

“Go.” Kageyama could feel the tears pricking the corners of his eyes, and he didn’t want Hinata to see him cry. 

Hinata bit his lip and stormed out of the room.

Kageyama fell back onto his pillow. He didn’t try to fight it when he started to cry. Silent tears trickled down his cheeks.

He was mostly angry, out of everything else. Angry at his parents and at himself, angry at the world. 

Before he knew what was happening, he had grabbed the picture and thrown it to the ground. Kageyama cringed at the sound it made. The frame shattered, sending shards all over the floor and under the bed. 

Kageyama heard a couple of footsteps outside. The door swung open. “Kageyama, are you okay? I heard…”

Hinata’s eyes darted to the floor. “Oh.” 

Kageyama swallowed and rubbed his eyes. So much for hiding everything from Hinata. 

“Kageyama. We’re supposed to be leaving tomorrow, but… if you’re not up to it…”

“No. I'm going. It’s fine.” He rested his hand on the back of his neck and sighed.

Hinata looked doubtful, but nodded. “Alright.” He turned to leave but stopped in the doorway.

“You can talk to me, Kageyama. I… I lost my parents too. If you need anything, I’m here.”

Kageyama watched him leave, closing the door gently behind himself, and sat there in shock.

He hadn’t even considered the fact that Hinata’s parents could've died too. He mentally slapped himself for being so selfish. 

He buried his face in his pillow and groaned. The trip was going to be harder than he had thought.

***

Meanwhile, Hinata stood outside Kageyama’s bedroom, unsure what to do. In the end, he decided to find Yachi. She was good at talking about these sorts of things.

Hinata went to the healers tower and knocked on Yachi's door. She yelled "Coming," and Hinata heard shuffling from inside the room.

Yachi opened the door, hair up in a bandana, clothes covered in a black dust. 

"Hinata? Why are you here?"

Hinata rubbed the back of his neck. "I was wondering if I could talk to you about something." He leaned closer to her and whispered, "It's about Kageyama."

Yachi's eyes widened and she let Hinata into her room. Hinata sat down on the floor like he usually did when he came to her room, and Yachi settled down at her desk, moving several jars to make room for her to sit.

"Okay, Hinata, what's up?"

Hinata crossed his legs and leaned his elbows on his knees. "Well, I was in Kageyama's room, and when I brought up his parents, he got all emotional and stuff. And when I came back after he told me to leave…"

Yachi held her hands up. "Hold on, hold on. You came back after he specifically told you to go?"

"I heard a crash coming from the room and wanted to make sure he was okay!"

Yachi smiled a little and motioned for him to continue.

"When I came back he was crying and the picture of him and his parents was broken on the ground." Hinata frowned and looked at the floor.

Yachi twisted a strand of hair around her finger. "Hm… I didn't think the king was like this. I guess this is the part of him that none of us see."

Hinata nodded and bit his lip. "I… I told him he could talk to me, but I don't think he wants to open up. He's clearly upset that his parents went missing."

"I wonder if he blames himself…" Yachi pondered. 

Little did both of them know that that was exactly what Kageyama thought, every single night and every morning when he woke up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If I made any mistakes please tell me!


	15. Chapter 15

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I realized I've stopped naming the chapters. Sucks. 
> 
> Here's another chapter! Enjoy!

The sound of shouting woke Kageyama up the next morning. He wandered into the library from his room and found Kuroo and Bokuto arguing about how to hold a sword. 

Daichi and Suga were sitting, watching them disapprovingly. 

Daichi nodded as Kageyama came in. "Morning. Sleep okay, Your Majesty?"

Kageyama nodded and settled into an armchair. 

"The others aren't awake yet, but you guys should head out once they wake up and get ready. You should go pack," said Suga softly. 

Nodding, Kageyama got out of the chair and walked back to his room. He passed by Kenma and Akaashi, who were headed to the library. 

He got back to his room, changed out of his pajamas, and grabbed a small bag in which he put some clothes, a compass, and his mother's knife.

When he got back to the library, Yachi and Kiyoko were there, already set to go. 

He noticed that Hinata wasn't there yet. 

A few minutes later, Hinata arrived, talking with Yamaguchi and carrying a bag on his back. 

He made brief eye contact with Kageyama then turned to greet Yachi.

Daichi spoke up. "You guys should get going."

Kiyoko nodded. She was the one in charge of flying them to the neighbouring kingdom, and she looked pretty calm about it.

Hinata and Yachi followed her out the front gates and onto the stone path in front of the path.

Kiyoko sprinkled golden powder around them and took Yachi’s hand, who took Hinata’s, who reluctantly extended a hand to Kageyama. 

After a couple of seconds of hesitation, Kageyama slid his hand into Hinata’s. 

Kiyoko whispered a few words and just like when they had flown with Kenma, they rose off the ground and into the sky.

Yachi squeaked loudly and tightened her grip on Kiyoko's hand. 

Kiyoko giggled. "Don't worry, this is perfectly safe. We won't fall." 

Kageyama didn’t particularly enjoy flying. He felt too out of control for his liking.

He heard Hinata gasp beside him and felt his hand tighten around his own.

Below them there was a family of deer, grazing together in a grassy clearing. It was a beautiful sight, since the residents of the castle didn’t get to see wild animals very often.

When Hinata turned to him with a serene smile on his face, Kageyama almost forgot what had happened between them yesterday. He managed to smile back. 

He didn’t want Hinata to be mad at him. Kageyama wasn’t angry at Hinata, he just didn’t want him to see the side of him that he didn’t show anyone.

“Hey, Hinata?” he whispered, just loud enough so only Hinata could hear.

“Yeah?” 

The wind blew Hinata’s hair into his face and Kageyama couldn’t help but think he looked cute. 

“You’re mad at me, aren’t you?” Kageyama asked. 

Hinata’s eyes widened slightly, and he almost let go of Kageyama’s hand. “I mean… No… Kinda? I’m not really mad…”

“Then what’s going on?”

“You’re really secretive, you never pay attention to anyone’s needs besides your own, and you make me angry.” Hinata’s face was red with anger and Yachi turned to him to see if he was alright.

Kageyama wrinkled his nose, offended. “I don’t have to tell all my personal information to someone I met less than a week ago!”

“Well, you could at least try to be a little more polite!”

“Guys?” Kiyoko spoke up. “We’re landing now.”

They managed to find a nice clearing to land in. Their feet touched the ground and Yachi let out a sigh of relief, bending over and putting her hands on her knees. Kiyoko patted her back gently.

Everyone took a couple of moments to get their bearings before Kiyoko led them into the forest. She showed them a drawing of black trumpet mushrooms and told them to keep an eye out.

Hinata ran ahead in hopes of finding the mushroom first. Kageyama shook his head at Hinata’s unnecessary competitiveness. 

Kageyama walked behind Kiyoko and Yachi, regretting that he had been chosen to go on this trip. He just hoped that they would get the ingredients quickly so they could go back to the castle.

“I found some!” Hinata’s voice rang out from deeper into the woods. Kiyoko and Yachi sped up a little bit to find him, with Kageyama close behind.

They found Hinata excitedly pointing at some dark mushrooms growing on the ground underneath his feet. 

Kageyama, Yachi, and Kiyoko looked past Hinata and gaped.

“What’s wrong?” asked Hinata, who was unaware of what the others were looking at. He turned around and gasped.

All four of them stared at the huge castle standing in front of them. There was a stone wall surrounding it, and several different buildings, all enormous. The castle’s architecture was beautiful, and they all stood there in awe.

“Wow,” Hinata eventually said softly.

Kiyoko brought her hand down from her mouth to speak. “We’re definitely in the neighbouring kingdom. That must be their palace.”

“I wonder if they have olive trees in the royal gardens…” Yachi wondered aloud.

Hinata perked up and ran over to the edge of the wall. After trying to see over it multiple times, he turned to Kageyama. “Lift me up.”

“Why?”

“I want to see if there are any olive trees, dummy.”

Kageyama sighed and bent down, letting Hinata climb onto his shoulders.

“Waah! I’m so tall!” Hinata peered over the castle wall.

“They have olive trees! I can see them in the gardens.” 

Kageyama bent back down so Hinata could get off his shoulders. Hinata brushed himself off.

Kiyoko looked at all of them. “We can’t break in.”

“But we have to,” protested Hinata.

Yachi waved her hand, interrupting. “We could probably find some other olive trees in the forest if we look for a little longer.”

“But they’re right there! It’s a waste.”

“Hinata, it’s stealing,” said Kiyoko gently.

Kageyama kept quiet. He agreed with Hinata though; it was easier for them to take a branch from the trees in the royal gardens than to spend more time looking for another tree. 

“If you two don’t want to do it then Kageyama and I will. Right?” Hinata looked expectantly at him.

“Huh? Oh, right.”

Yachi squirmed. “I have a bad feeling about this…”

“Don’t get caught,” Kiyoko warned them. The two girls sat down on the ground to wait for Hinata and Kageyama to get the branch. 

“Ready?” asked Hinata.

Kageyama pushed down the knot of fear in his stomach and nodded.  
“Ready.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm just going to say that things are going to get a tad wild the next chapter. I have to ask my beta readers if I need to change the archive warnings, but I'm just telling y'all.
> 
> See you next week!


	16. Chapter 16

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heyyy I'm back with another chapter. If you noticed, this is part of a series now. I will be starting part 2 after this one is finished, which is like another 6 or 7 chapters. 
> 
> (there is some violence in this chapter just so y'all know)
> 
> Enjoy!

“Dumbass, you’re stepping on my head.”

“Sorry, sorry… There.”

Hinata squatted on top of the wall. He grabbed Kageyama’s hand and pulled the king up beside him. 

They both looked across at the gardens, which weren’t too far away. Kageyama didn’t see any guards between them and the olive trees, which was good.

“Okay, so here’s the plan,” said Hinata. “I’ll cut off the branch and you’ll stand guard. Yell really loud if someone’s coming.”

“What should I yell?”

“I don’t know, just yell something. It doesn’t matter.” Hinata leapt down to the ground with a loud sound.

“Idiot, be quieter!” Kageyama dropped off the wall, landing much softer than Hinata.

“We have to be secretive, there could be people watching from the windows of the castle,” whispered Hinata. 

He bent down, putting himself out of sight and started to run towards the olive trees. It was harder for Kageyama, since he was so much taller. He had to resort to stopping every two seconds to hide behind something. 

They reached the gardens and Hinata went up to one of the trees as Kageyama watched the castle and their surroundings, making sure there weren’t any guards.

“Kageyama!” 

He turned to look at Hinata. “What?” 

“I don’t have anything to cut the branch off with.” 

Kageyama frowned. “Don’t you have your sword?” 

Hinata shook his head. “It’s in my bag, and I left that with Yachi and Kiyoko.”

Hinata stared at him expectantly. 

Kageyama stared back at him, confused. “What?”

“You have a knife.”

Kageyama’s hand flew to the hilt hanging at his hip that contained his mother’s knife. “No…”

“C’mon Kageyama, give it to me!” Hinata said impatiently.

Kageyama slowly shook his head. Hinata moved towards him. 

“Don’t touch it, idiot! I’m not letting you use it!” Kageyama backed away and tripped over a tree root. 

Hinata stepped back a little as Kageyama fell over. “Why are you being so stubborn, Kageyama? Just give me the knife so we can get out of here!”

“No.” Kageyama stood up and moved further from Hinata, who looked at him with terrified eyes. 

Kageyama bumped into something, or rather someone. He felt a hand pull his head back and a cold blade pressed against his throat. 

“Well, well, well. What do we have here?” a low voice crooned. 

“Kage—” Another person grabbed Hinata and pinned his arms against his back. 

“I see we have a couple of intruders here. The dungeons have been empty for a while, I’m sure the rats are lonely. What do you say, Suguru?” 

The man holding a knife to Kageyama chuckled. “Sounds like a plan.”

Before Kageyama and Hinata knew it, they were being dragged through the halls of the unfamiliar palace, down to the dungeons.

They were thrown rather forcefully into a single cell. The man who had a knife, Suguru, kicked each of them before slamming the cell door shut.

“Don’t make too much noise or we’ll come down to shut you up. And don’t even think about trying to escape. We’ll kill you in an instant.”

He grinned devilishly and he and the other man ascended the stairs, out of sight. Kageyama could hear them laughing.

He spun around and punched the wall. It hurt like hell, but he punched it until his knuckles bled. 

Hinata watched him, sitting on the cold, dirty ground. Eventually, Kageyama collapsed on the floor beside him.

Hinata patted his arm reassuringly, but he was feeling hopeless himself.

Kageyama was so absorbed in his own rage that it took him a little while to notice the tears streaming down Hinata’s cheeks. He gasped softly.

Hinata roughly wiped his eyes with his sleeves, turning away from Kageyama.

“Hinata…” 

“This is my fault. If I hadn’t started arguing with you, they wouldn’t have found us.” He sniffled.

Kageyama lay his hand on Hinata’s. “It wasn’t anyone’s fault. We don’t need to focus on that. We have to find a way out.”

Hinata turned to him with alarm. “Didn’t you hear him? They’ll kill us if we try to escape.”

“Not if they don’t catch us. Plus, if we don’t get back soon, Yachi and Kiyoko will be worried.” 

Hinata sighed. After a second, he whispered, “Okay.” He leaned into Kageyama, shivering.

“We can probably pick the lock, but then there’s the problem of actually getting out of the castle without being spotted.” Kageyama scratched his head. 

Hinata pursed his lips. “We could always just run for it and hope they don’t see us. Plus, we could take any of those guards in a fight.”

Kageyama smirked. “Not if you don’t have a sword.”

“Is that a challenge, Kageyama?” Hinata raised his voice slightly.

A voice sounded from above and they heard loud footsteps running down the stairs. Suguru appeared. Hinata and Kageyama scooted to the very back of the cell.

“Scared, are you?” He unlocked the cell and grabbed Hinata, who squeaked.

“Hinata!” yelled Kageyama. “Let go of him!”

Suguru cocked his head. “No, I think he needs to be taught a little lesson on following orders first.”

He pressed his knife to Hinata’s cheek and dragged the blade along the length of his face, slicing through his skin and leaving a long cut. Hinata bit his lip, not ready to give Suguru the satisfaction of hearing him scream.

Suguru threw Hinata back to the floor, where he landed in Kageyama’s arms.

“That’ll leave a nice scar. Remember what I said. Shut up or next time I’ll be less merciful.”

He closed the cell door and left without another word.

“Shit, shit. Hinata, are you okay?” Kageyama looked down at the boy in his arms.

Hinata nodded weakly, blood trickling down his face.

Kageyama tore off his sleeve and pressed it against Hinata’s cheek to stop the bleeding. 

“Goddamnit. How did this happen…” whispered Kageyama to himself. He sat there in despair, holding the cloth to Hinata’s face.

Hinata looked at him. He smiled as he realized that even though Kageyama could be cold and selfish, he was gentle when he wanted to be.

“Why are you smiling, dumbass?” 

Hinata laughed, then winced. “Nothing. Has the bleeding stopped?” 

Kageyama slowly moved the torn piece of cloth away from Hinata’s face and pulled Hinata’s face close to his so he could see the cut better.

“Yeah. It doesn’t look too deep or anything, but we should get Yachi to fix it up when we get back to her.”

Kageyama leaned back against the wall of the cell. Suddenly, Hinata jumped to his feet and ran over to the door.

Hesitantly, he pushed on the door and to Kageyama’s surprise, it swung open.

Hinata grinned. “I knew he forgot to lock it.”

Kageyama sat there in shock for a second before Hinata ran over to him.

Hinata grabbed his hand and ran out of the cell, dragging Kageyama behind him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> See you next time!


	17. Chapter 17

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please ignore the very incorrect medical procedures in this chapter. I am writing what I know based off the internet, which isn't much. 
> 
> Also wow there are a lot of plot holes

Kageyama and Hinata crouched at the top of the stairs, watching as guards walked back and forth down the hall. 

Two new guards entered the hall. Kageyama figured they were changing shifts.

Hinata tapped him on the shoulder. “On three, we run. They’re changing shifts so they won’t be settled in. It’s our best chance.”

Kageyama nodded, but he was nervous. 

The guards from the last shift left. “One…” 

Kageyama felt for his knife, which was still hanging at his hip. He looked at Hinata, who nodded at him.

“Two…”

He got ready to run.

“Three.” 

Hinata shot off, sprinting past the guards. One of the guards noticed and started to chase him. Kageyama ran after them.

He passed the guard and caught up to Hinata.

“One of them is following us, right?” asked Hinata, breathing heavily.

Kageyama nodded and they sped up. Up ahead was the front door. There were three more guards and Kageyama swore. 

Hinata ran to the left of the guards, leading them away from Kageyama. 

“Idiot, what are you doing?”

“Just run! Get out!”

“Not without you!” Kageyama turned sharply and followed the three guards chasing Hinata. 

He felt a sharp pain in his left shoulder and looked down to see an arrow sticking out of it. There were archers positioned on the balcony. Of course.

Hinata was cornered. All the guards had swords and were advancing on him.

“Hinata!” 

He saw Kageyama. Something flew at his face and he caught it. It was Kageyama’s knife.

Hinata stabbed one of the guards in the stomach. A second one lunged at him and he grabbed his arm and twisted away, breaking it. He ran towards the door and fell into stride beside Kageyama. Together they burst through the door and ran out.

They passed through the gardens and Kageyama lifted Hinata over the wall. He climbed over himself.

Hinata slumped against the wall. Kageyama sank down beside him.

They looked at each other. Hinata smiled. “We made it.”

Kageyama nodded, and a jolt of pain shot through him. He winced. Hinata’s eyes flitted down to Kageyama’s shoulder.

“Hinata! Your Majesty!” Yachi and Kiyoko came running towards them. 

Hinata didn’t acknowledge them and instead focused on the arrow piercing Kageyama’s shoulder. “When did this happen?”

“There were archers on the balcony. They shot me when I was running over to help you deal with those guards.” Kageyama winced again and dug his nails into his palms.

“Yachi, you need to treat him,” said Hinata, the worry evident in his voice.

Kageyama shook his head and took a deep breath. “No, what about your cheek? It needs to be healed or it’ll get infected.”

Hinata stared at him incredulously. “You’re joking, right? Kageyama, there is an arrow stuck in you!”

“I know that, idiot!” 

“Your Majesty, it’s more important that we take care of you first…” said Yachi gently.

Kageyama wasn’t thinking straight, and he knew that, but all he could prioritize was treating Hinata’s cut. He wasn’t even thinking about his own wound, which was turning purple.

Hinata sighed and his forehead creased with unusual worry. “We’re treating you first. Don’t even try to protest.” 

Yachi knelt down beside Kageyama and inspected the wound. “We’re going to have to remove the arrow to clean it. Kiyoko, can you get me my bag, please?”

Kiyoko ran to get Yachi her bag. Yachi cleaned her hands. “I have to open the wound to get the arrow out. This… is probably going to hurt. A lot.”

Kageyama bit his lip and squeezed his eyes shut. He felt a blade press against his skin and seconds later, pain flooded through his shoulder.

He couldn’t help it. He screamed. Yachi winced but kept her grip on the scalpel.

Kageyama opened his eyes and saw Hinata’s face. Hinata looked sympathetically at him with his wide brown eyes.

“Your Majesty, I’m going to take the arrow out now, okay?”

Kageyama nodded. Hinata reached out and took his hand. 

“It’s going to be over soon,” he whispered.

Kageyama closed his eyes again. Yachi took her forceps and reached into the wound. She got hold of the arrowhead and took the shaft with her other hand.

The pain was so unbearable he almost passed out. Kageyama squeezed Hinata’s hand tightly. Spots danced in his vision.

Yachi pulled and the arrow came out with a sickening squelch. Kiyoko took the arrow and put it away. Kageyama felt Yachi clean the wound and wrap bandages tightly around it. He opened his eyes. 

Yachi wiped the sweat off her forehead. “All done.”

Hinata smiled at him and gave his hand a little squeeze. 

“Let her treat you now, dumbass. I’m fine.”

Yachi cleaned Hinata’s cut and put some herbs and a bandage on it. 

They all sat down against the wall to eat something and rest a bit before they started travelling again. Hinata explained everything that had happened to Yachi and Kiyoko, with some help from Kageyama. 

“The guards, did they recognize what kingdom you two were from?” asked Kiyoko.

Hinata shook his head. “No, I think we’re fine. They wouldn’t know Kageyama yet, since he was just crowned.”

Kageyama nodded in agreement. 

“It’s kind of weird that we’re just sitting in their territory, so close to their palace, when they tried to kill you guys,” commented Yachi. 

“Yeah.” Hinata ran his hand absentmindedly over his cheek. 

Kageyama shuddered. He hoped they would never have to encounter that cruel guard, Suguru, again. 

Hinata snapped his fingers. “Oh yeah, Kageyama. Here’s your knife back.”

Kageyama took the knife delicately into his hands. He cleaned off the blood with his shirt and slid it back into the hilt at his hip.

“Thanks for letting me use it.” 

“I couldn’t just let you die.” Kageyama shrugged, then winced in pain.

Hinata scoffed. “I could’ve taken them without a weapon. I broke one guy’s arm.”

Yachi looked at him, horrified. Hinata smiled triumphantly.

The food got finished quickly, and everyone grabbed their bags and got ready to continue their journey.

Kageyama hoisted his bag onto his right shoulder and followed the others through the forest. 

Kiyoko looked at the scroll. “We still need an olive branch,” Hinata and Kageyama hung their heads guiltily, “and salamander saliva.”

Yachi perked up. Her blond hair shone brightly in the moonlight. “I know how we can find a salamander. We need to build a fire first.”

Kiyoko went to build a fire and Yachi, Hinata, and Kageyama went to find some logs. 

“Salamanders often dwell in rotting logs, so if you put one into the fire, the salamander living inside will try to escape, and then you can catch it,” Yachi explained.

Hinata managed to stack five logs into his arms, while Yachi got two and Kageyama got one. 

Yachi glanced at Hinata worriedly. “Hinata, be careful with those. You might—”

Hinata crashed to the ground.

“—fall.” 

Kageyama burst into laughter. Yachi ran to help Hinata up.

He stepped up in Kageyama’s face. “Why are you laughing, Kageyama, you big meanie?”

Kageyama tried to answer but he was laughing too hard. They all managed to carry their logs over to the fire Kiyoko had built.

Yachi put the logs in, one by one. The first three produced no results. She tossed a fourth one in.

Hinata bent down to see if anything crawled out. He saw a little flash of colour and managed to catch it.

“I got one!” 

Kiyoko produced a small glass bottle and opened the salamander’s mouth. She managed to get a little bit of its saliva and Hinata lowered the salamander to the ground and let it run away.

Hinata whooped. 

Kageyama sighed. Now all they had to do was find an olive tree.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading <3
> 
> See you next week!


	18. Chapter 18

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow, I can't believe part 1 is almost finished. I'll have part 2 up as soon as this is done, and updates will be the same days. Dunno why I'm saying this now, but whatever. 
> 
> Enjoy the chapter!

It was getting dark, and they still hadn’t found any olive trees.

Hinata was dragging his feet. “Can’t we just go back to that castle and, I dunno, ask them for an olive branch?”

“Are you forgetting that they imprisoned and tried to kill us?” asked Kageyama. He dropped his bag on the ground and sat down on it.

“Well, maybe if we ask politely…”

Kageyama shook his head incredulously. 

Yachi and Kiyoko looked at each other and came to a silent agreement.

“We should stop for the night,” said Kiyoko. 

Hinata nodded enthusiastically. “Man, my back is killing me. If I have to walk another step I might fall and die.” 

“Quit being dramatic,” retorted Kageyama as Yachi and Kiyoko set up the tent. 

The sun had fully set and they all went inside the tent. It was much bigger on the inside than it looked, and Kageyama looked quizzically at Kiyoko. 

She laughed. “There’s a spell on it. I figured it would be useful.”

“Waah! This is so cool, Kiyoko!” Hinata rolled out his sleeping bag and crawled into it, wriggling in excitement.

Kageyama set up his own sleeping bag and lay down to go to bed. Kiyoko zipped up the tent and everyone went to sleep.

***

Kageyama woke up at 4 in the morning, his shoulder aching. He groaned quietly and made his way out of the tent, being careful not to wake the others up.

He began to walk through the forest. After a few minutes, he came across a waterfall that cascaded down into a crystal clear river. 

Looking around for any people, Kageyama took off his shoes and sat on the edge of the riverbed with his feet in the cold water. 

He closed his eyes and turned his face up to the sky to feel the sun on his skin.

Out of nowhere, he heard faint laughter. His eyes snapped open and he looked behind him. Hinata was standing there, an amused smile on his face. 

“How did you find me?” asked Kageyama.

Hinata came and sat down beside him. “I followed you from the tent.” He took off his own shoes and dangled his feet in the water. 

Hinata turned to Kageyama. “Hey, if you could’ve given me the knife to cut the branch, why didn’t you?”

Kageyama was taken aback. “I…” He rubbed the back of his neck. “The knife was my mom’s.”

Hinata nodded understandingly. “But you let me use it anyway.”

“I already told you, I didn’t want you to die.”

“But I told you to leave me.” Hinata kicked his feet, churning up the water.

Kageyama looked down at his lap. “I wasn’t going to do that.” 

“But I’m a royal guard. It’s my duty to protect the king, even if it costs me my life.” Hinata bit his lip.

“Don’t you see that I care about you, dumbass?” said Kageyama, raising his voice.

Hinata’s eyes widened. 

Realizing what he’d said, Kageyama blushed. 

They sat in uncomfortable silence, the only sound being the crash of the waterfall. 

“Why?” asked Hinata eventually. 

Kageyama stared at him. Why? He had never thought about it. Why did he care about Hinata? 

“I… I don’t know. I just do.” 

Hinata leaned back on his arms. “Well, I care about you too. In case you wanted to know.” His cheeks turned the slightest shade of red. 

“Whatever, idiot.” Kageyama kicked water at Hinata.

Hinata splashed him back. Soon, both of them were drenched and breathing heavily. 

Kageyama looked down at his clothes. “Damn, now I have to change and let these dry.” He stood up and went back to the tent. Hinata followed behind.

Yachi and Kiyoko were standing outside the tent. “Where were you two?” asked Yachi. She sounded worried.

“We went for a walk,” said Hinata.

“You’re soaked,” Kiyoko commented. 

Kageyama went into the tent to grab the extra clothes from his bag and change. 

Hinata came in and changed too. They packed up and Kiyoko took down the tent. 

Yachi changed Hinata and Kageyama’s bandages and cleaned their wounds. Hinata’s cut was healing up nicely. "There's going to be a scar," Yachi remarked grimly.   
"It's okay! It'll make me look more rugged." Hinata replied.

Kageyama snorted.

They cleaned up everything and set off on their way. 

The scenery changed slowly, the forest becoming denser with trees and branches. Kageyama had to walk bending down to avoid being scratched up. 

Hinata slowed down his pace considerately, and held Kageyama back by the sleeve, away from Kiyoko and Yachi, who were far ahead.

“What are you doing?” asked Kageyama, confused.

Hinata leaned in conspiratorially. “We aren’t going to find any olive trees even if we keep going.”

“And?”

“I know I already said this, but we have to sneak back into that palace’s gardens. It’s the only way.”

Kageyama sighed. “Yachi and Kiyoko won’t like this.”

“We don’t have to tell them. We just have to wait for night again, then sneak away and get a branch. Easy.” Hinata raised his eyebrows. “So?”

Kageyama bit his lip. It wasn’t a good plan. They were likely to get caught. 

“This is the worst idea you’ve ever had.”

Hinata put a hand on his hip. “Does that mean you won’t help me? Because I don’t need you, I can do it myself—”

“Hell no. I’m coming with you. I was just telling you this plan sucks.”

“Like you could come up with a better one,” Hinata retorted, sticking out his tongue. 

Kiyoko turned around. “Is everything okay back there?”

“Yeah!” Hinata winked conspiratorially at Kageyama and ran to catch up with the girls.

Kageyama sighed loudly and followed after him.

The little group stopped a couple times to eat and rest, but they didn’t manage to find any olive trees.

“I was sure they grew in this area,” muttered Kiyoko. Yachi looked at her sympathetically. 

“Should we set up camp again?” asked Hinata, a little too enthusiastically. Kageyama wondered if he was going to be able to keep their secret from the girls.

Kiyoko nodded and Hinata helped her pitch the tent. 

Yachi and Kiyoko curled up in one corner of the tent and Kageyama and Hinata curled up in another. 

Kageyama was just drifting into sleep when Hinata shook him. “Kageyama. Yachi and Kiyoko are asleep.”

Kageyama got out of his sleeping bag quietly and followed Hinata out of the tent.

“We’re really doing this, huh?” he asked while adjusting his knife's sheath.

“What choice do we have? We aren’t gonna find an olive branch anywhere else.”

Kageyama shrugged. “You brought your sword this time, right?” 

Hinata nodded and patted the weapon at his side. He started off through the forest.

Kageyama checked his hilt for his mother’s old knife and ran after Hinata.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Feel free to leave any comments if you have any questions or anything to say in general!


	19. Chapter 19

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I haven't figured out how to do italics but I'll fix that when I have time.
> 
> There's some violence in this chapter and a character death in a dream
> 
> Edit: I added the italics

They were standing in front of the wall again, and Kageyama was seriously starting to doubt Hinata’s judgement. 

“Hurry up and lift me up, Kageyama,” whispered Hinata. 

Kageyama frowned and hoisted Hinata onto the top of the wall. It was dark and they couldn’t see very well, so he wasn’t surprised when he heard Hinata yelp.

“Be careful Kageyama, the wall is thinner than I remembered.”

Kageyama stared down at his useless arm and wondered how he was going to get up the wall.

Hinata seemed to think the same thing, because he leaned down. “Give me your hand.”

Kageyama stretched his right arm out and let Hinata pull him up. 

“I guess we didn’t really think this through,” said Hinata. He jumped off the wall, landing quieter than last time, and Kageyama followed him.

“Watch out for guards,” warned Kageyama. 

“It’s the middle of the night, we’re fine.” Hinata reached the olive trees and drew his sword. Kageyama stood close to him, squinting in the dark. 

Hinata quickly cut off a branch and nodded to Kageyama. But before they could climb back over the wall, a quiet voice rang out from the yard.

“Hello? Is there someone there?” 

Kageyama swore and tried to climb over the wall. Hinata stopped mid-step.

“Hello?”

“Hinata, you dumbass!” whispered Kageyama. “We have to get out of here!”

A shadow appeared from behind a tree. “Hinata?” 

“I recognize that voice…” Hinata walked towards the figure. 

Kageyama face-palmed. They were screwed. 

“Lev!” Hinata cried.

“Kageyama! It’s fine, it’s just Lev!”

“Do you expect me to know who Lev is?” Kageyama went over to Hinata and saw the guy standing in front of him.

“Oh, right. Kageyama, this is Lev. Lev, Kageyama.” 

Lev smiled down at Kageyama. Kageyama noticed he was really tall.

“Anyways, what are you doing here? We miss you back at the castle.”

Lev rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. “I work here now. Wait, what are you doing here?”

Kageyama choked. They needed to leave, now.

“Oh no…” whispered Hinata. Kageyama grabbed his arm and pulled him towards the wall.

“Lev, please don’t tell anyone you saw us here!” Hinata pleaded as Kageyama lifted him over the wall. He helped the king up and they jumped down to the other side. 

As they ran back to the tent, Kageyama spoke up. “Hinata, you idiot. Do you know how dangerous that was?”

“It was just Lev, it’s fine! He’ll keep our secret, don’t worry about it, Kageyama.”

The snuck back into the tent. As they were crawling into their sleeping bags, Yachi sat up.

“Hinata? Your Majesty?”

Kageyama cursed under his breath.

“Did you two go out?” Yachi said into the darkness. 

Hinata and Kageyama looked at each other for a second. Hinata turned to Yachi.

“Please don’t be mad, we went to get an olive branch from the palace gardens, I know it was a bad idea, but we’re back safe and isn’t that really all that matters?”

Kageyama punched him. “Dumbass, we weren’t supposed to tell.”

“I couldn’t have made up a believable lie in such a short time!” Hinata protested.

Kageyama scoffed. “Amateur.” 

Yachi sighed. “As long as you guys are okay.” She curled back up in her sleeping bag and went back to bed. 

Kageyama lay back down next to Hinata and fell asleep. He hadn’t gotten nearly enough sleep recently and he was exhausted, not to mention he had been locked in a dungeon and shot with an arrow all in the past two days. 

He heard Hinata snoring beside him and as soon as he closed his eyes, he drifted off to sleep. 

***

_He was running down the halls of the castle. Screams filled his ears and as he turned identical corners, no idea where he was heading, they grew louder._

__

_He burst into a room and saw his parents. They were in chains, sitting on the floor. Both of them had multiple cuts in various places, and their clothes were in tatters._

__

_“Tobio! Help us!” cried his mother while his father wept._

__

_Kageyama noticed his father’s crown, which sat crookedly upon his head._

__

_Kageyama tried to run away, but someone grabbed him. His father stood up and took off the crown, reaching out to put it on Kageyama’s head._

__

_He tried to protest, to tell them he wasn’t ready, that he was scared, but before he knew it, he was wearing the crown._

__

_He tried to pull it off, but the crown kept on getting tighter and tighter, slowly crushing his skull._

__

_The scene changed and he was standing in front of a crowd of people, giving a speech. He tried to speak but no words came out. Someone in the crowd booed and soon the only thing he could hear was the shouts of disapproval from everyone in the crowd._

__

_He fell to his knees, covering his ears to try and drown out the voices. All of a sudden, everything went quiet._

__

_Hinata appeared in front of him. Hinata, who had helped him so much. Hinata offered his hand and Kageyama took it. He pulled him to his feet, giving him a charming smile._

__

_“It’s going to be okay, Kageyama.”_

__

_They walked hand in hand down the street, Kageyama feeling safer than he had in a long time._

__

_He heard a gasp and turned to Hinata. Suguru was standing behind him, holding a sword to his back._

__

_Kageyama froze. When it counted, he couldn’t even do anything to help someone he loved. He watched in horror as Suguru drove the sword through Hinata’s middle, the blade coming out through his stomach. Suguru pulled the sword out and Kageyama almost threw up._

__

_Kageyama screamed. Hinata collapsed to the ground, blood already pooling around his body. Suguru smiled at Kageyama. “Didn’t I tell you to be quiet?”_

__

__

__

_He vanished._

__

__

__

_Kageyama sank to his knees, tears stinging his eyes. He cradled Hinata in his arms and desperately tried to stop the bleeding from the gaping wound in his stomach._

__

__

__

_Hinata’s eyes were slowly growing dimmer, his breathing becoming more and more uneven, and Kageyama wept openly. “Please don’t go, I need you.”_

__

__

__

_Brown eyes met his, and Hinata’s hand found its way to Kageyama’s cheek._

__

__

__

_Kageyama held back a sob. Hinata opened his mouth to say something, but the light in his eyes went out and his body went limp._

__

__

__

_Kageyama screamed again. He screamed and screamed until his throat was raw._

__

__

He jolted awake, cutting his scream short. Hinata sat up abruptly beside him. 

__

“Kageyama? Are you okay?”

__

The moment Kageyama heard Hinata’s voice, soft and calm in the darkness of the night, he started to cry. 

__

“Kageyama?” Hinata crawled over to him.

__

Kageyama put his hands on Hinata’s cheeks and looked him in the eyes. It had all been a dream. Hinata was fine. 

__

Hinata’s face turned red. “What are you doing, idiot?”

__

Kageyama dropped his hands and shook his head in dismissal, wiping the tears off of his cheeks. “Nothing. I just had a bad dream, that’s all.”

__

Hinata pursed his lips. “Hm. Okay.” He curled up beside Kageyama and went back to sleep. 

__

Kageyama sat there for a second, processing what had just happened, before shrugging, lying down next to Hinata, and going back to bed.

__

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'll have the next chapter up on Thursday.  
> Bye for now


	20. Chapter 20

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow! I can't believe there are only two chapters left! I really need to get working on part 2 huh.
> 
> Enjoy this chapter!

Kiyoko woke them up the next day to go back to the castle. Yachi must’ve told her they had snuck out, because she shook her head disapprovingly at them before leaving the tent.

Kageyama rubbed his face groggily while Hinata stretched and yawned. He leaned his head into Kageyama's shoulder. "I'm so tired…"   
Kageyama blushed, but he didn't move.

They packed up their things and stood in a circle, holding hands. Kiyoko sprinkled the powder around them and they rose into the air. 

Once they were in the sky, Kageyama noticed how small his kingdom’s castle looked in the distance. It was comforting, really, to think about how little his world was and how insignificant they were in the grand scheme of things. 

He closed his eyes as they flew through the air, finally heading back home for good. 

***

They were greeted back at the castle with wide smiles and relieved sighs. Yachi and Kiyoko sat down to rest for a minute before heading down to the dungeons to get started with the counter-spell. Kenma went with them as well.

Kageyama’s mind went in a million different directions when Suga and Daichi approached him. Hinata was still by his side, absentmindedly stroking the cut on his cheek.

“Your Majesty. How are you?” Suga asked, his eyes worriedly fixed on the bandages on Kageyama’s shoulder.

“I’m fine,” muttered Kageyama, looking uncomfortably at his feet. 

“Your Majesty, you remember that you agreed to call a village meeting when you got back, yes?” said Daichi. 

Kageyama nodded weakly. He had forgotten about that amidst all the chaos. 

“Suga can take you to see the messengers, so you can tell them what to tell the villagers.” 

Suga smiled and started walking away, so Kageyama followed him. After a second, he felt a hand slide into his, and turned to see Hinata walking beside him.

Kageyama stared at him, cheeks flushing.

Hinata stared back. “What?” 

Kageyama shook his head as if to clear it. “Nothing. Let’s go.”

They ran to catch up with Suga, who was heading out a side door into a different building.

“Oh, this is the servants’ building,” said Hinata, still holding Kageyama’s hand. 

The three of them entered the building, and Suga called out. “Hanamaki? Matsukawa? You in here?” 

Kageyama looked around. He realized he had never been in here before, and he hadn’t even known the servants had their own building. 

Two guys came out from the room on the left, laughing. They waved at Suga. Suga turned to Kageyama and Hinata.

“These are the castle’s two messengers, Hanamaki and Matsukawa.”

The two looked down at Kageyama’s and Hinata’s entwined hands and made brief eye contact, grinning.

They both bowed in unison. “Your Majesty.”

Kageyama blushed slightly. “Nice to meet you.”

Suga smothered a laugh behind his hand. “Daichi told you two about the village meeting, yes?”

Hanamaki nodded. “I’m assuming we’ll have to inform the villagers.”

“Yes.” Suga turned to Kageyama. “Your Majesty.”

Kageyama jumped at the sound of his title. He realized he was supposed to tell the messengers what he wanted them to tell the villagers. He thought about it for a minute.

“Anytime,” said Matsukawa. Hanamaki elbowed him in the side.

Kageyama cleared his throat. "Um, tell them that the king, me-- I have called a village meeting in the castle for 3 o'clock this afternoon to discuss recent events that took place in the castle."

He felt incredibly awkward saying all that and let out a sigh once he finished. Hinata squeezed his hand and gave him a reassuring smile, making Kageyama's heart leap in his chest. 

Hanamaki nodded. "Well get right to delivering the message, Your Majesty. Hey Mattsun, I bet I can get to more houses than you."

Matsukawa laughed. "I'd like to see you try." The two of them left the building, leaving Suga, Hinata, and Kageyama alone. 

They stood there awkwardly for a second before Suga led them back to the castle. It was only 1 o'clock, so Kageyama retreated to the library.

He was dreading the meeting, and searched the library for longer than needed to find a book. He didn't even want to read, which was maybe why he was delaying choosing a book. He just needed something to keep his mind occupied, to keep him from overthinking what was going to happen in a couple of hours. 

Kageyama shifted uncomfortably, trying to relieve the itch on his shoulder. He was going to have to ask Yachi or Suga to change his bandages again soon. 

The scribes went in and out of the library, sometimes talking softly. Bokuto was sticking by Akaashi and following him in his work. It got a little loud a couple of times, when Bokuto got too excited, but Akaashi quickly quieted him down. Kageyama appreciated the dull background noise they created. It eased his mind.

After reading his book for a few minutes, he realized that he didn't know what he was going to say to all of the villagers. 

He bookmarked his page and closed his book quietly, setting it on the table. Folding his arms over his chest, he leaned his head back and closed his eyes. 

He didn't want to worry the villagers, because there wasn't anything wrong. They already had all the ingredients and had started making the counter-spell. 

He felt a weight on the side of the chair and turned to see Hinata perched beside him. 

"Hey, Kageyama. You ready for the meeting?" 

Kageyama sighed. "Yeah, why wouldn't I be?" 

Hinata raised an eyebrow. "You don't look like it." 

Kageyama lunged at him, grabbing his hair roughly. "Dumbass!" 

"Ow, ow, Kageyama, that hurts!" 

Hinata fell off the arm of the chair, crashing to the ground. 

Akaashi, Kenma, and Bokuto all turned swiftly at the sound of the noise. 

"Shoyo, are you okay?" asked Kenma.

Hinata sprang to his feet, brushing himself off. "Yeah, I'm fine!"

"'Kay." The scribes turned back to their work. 

Hinata glared at Kageyama. Kageyama glared right back, although he was starting to feel the weight of his actions.

"Hmph. I can tell you're not ready, idiot." Hinata pouted.

"You're the idiot. And so what if I'm not? I just have to make a little speech, inform the village, convince them everything's fine…" His heart was racing just thinking about it. 

"Oh man, you're a hopeless case," laughed Hinata. 

Just then, Suga entered the library. "Your Majesty, it's time." 

Kageyama scrunched up his nose and followed him to his inevitable humiliation.

"Hey, good luck." Hinata called, and followed a while after.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If I made any mistakes please tell me


	21. Chapter 21

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Putting this up a day early because I know I'm going to forget to post it tomorrow. 
> 
> Enjoy!

Kageyama cleared his throat, uncomfortable in front of all the villagers. 

He was standing at the front of the coronation hall, where they had gathered everyone from the village and the castle to listen. Kageyama stared out at the crowd and put his trembling hands behind his back. He was undeniably nervous, never having spoken in front of a group this big before. 

When he saw Hinata, who was standing off to the left with the rest of the royal guard, he relaxed a little bit. Hinata noticed him and smiled, giving a slight wave of his hand.

When Kageyama cleared his throat for the second time, the crowd quieted down and all eyes fixed on him. 

"Uh, welcome everybody. You're probably wondering why you were called here."

Kageyama was overthinking every single thing he said. He knew he sounded childish and informal, but he didn't know what else to say to the villagers.

"A spell went wrong in the castle on the night of the coronation. We don't know who cast it, but everyone who was in the ballroom at the time was paralyzed."

A collective grasp rose from the crowd, and hushed whispers could be heard from every corner.

"We're currently working on a counter-spell, which should be done shortly. That's all."

"Was it one of the mages in the castle that cast the spell?" a man shouted from the crowd. 

Kageyama shifted his weight. "No, it wasn't anyone who lives or works at the castle. It was likely some visiting mages from another kingdom." 

No more questions left to ask, the villagers shuffled out of the castle. Kageyama could hear snippets of their conversations.

"Mages are dangerous…"

"...doesn't know what he's doing…"

"...lock up those magic-users…"

"His father was more responsible…"

Kageyama was starting to have trouble breathing. He slipped through the crowd and snuck into a back room, closing the door behind him. Sinking to the floor, he tried to regulate his breaths. 

Was he really such a bad ruler? He hadn't even been king for a week yet and the villagers already had such fierce distrust in him. 

A knock sounded on the door and a familiar voice called his name quietly. The door cracked open, revealing Hinata's concerned face.

"Hey. You okay?" 

Kageyama just sighed. Hinata sat down beside him on the floor. "It didn't go badly."

"You didn't hear them talking afterwards. They don't trust my judgement." 

"Then they're idiots. And what do they know?" Hinata hesitantly reached out to touch Kageyama's arm. 

Kageyama groaned. "My parents were much better rulers than me." 

Hinata frowned at him. "No, why would you say that? You're still learning, Kageyama, no one expects you to always make the right decisions and be the best at everything. You don't have to carry this kingdom on your own. It's very heavy, you know." 

"Then why does it feel like I am?" Kageyama said, voice rising in distress. 

Hinata sat there in shock. After a couple of moments, he whispered, "I'm sorry."

It was Kageyama's turn to be surprised. "Wha… for what?"

"For making you feel like you're alone. I know that feeling, and it hurts more than anything else in the world." Hinata looked at the floor, eyes full of sadness.

Right then, Kageyama remembered that Hinata had told him he had lost his parents too. He was curious as to how, but didn't want to prod at the sensitive topic.  
"My parents… they died when I was 12. During the drought." Hinata sniffed.

Guilt settled in Kageyama's gut. The drought. He remembered those months. The village was in shambles, frequent fights breaking out over food and water, death all around, and his parents had done nothing about it. They had ordered food from other kingdoms and enjoyed their wealth while their kingdom suffered. Kageyama hadn't even realized at the time that what they were doing was ignorant and selfish. 

"They got killed by our neighbours. I watched." Hinata's voice broke. "Natsu, my sister, was only 6 years old." 

Kageyama only listened in horror. Hinata kept talking. "So, I know what it's like to feel like you're all alone. But once I came to the castle, I wasn't alone anymore. And…" Hinata's grip on Kageyama's arm tightened.

"You're not alone anymore either. You have me." 

Kageyama turned a deep shade of red. 

"And the others, of course! Suga, Daichi…"

Kageyama smirked. "Shh, I get it, idiot." He leaned back on his hands. 

Hinata smiled, wiping his eyes with his hands. They sat together in the dark room, hands brushing. 

"What happened to them?" asked Hinata quietly. Kageyama knew exactly what he was talking about.

He took a shuddering breath before explaining. "About a year ago, I was sick. Really sick. The healers tried their best but nothing was working. So, my parents went out of the kingdom to find a more experienced healer. And… they didn't come back. I got better, so they didn't even need to go in the first place. It was my fault they died." 

"Kageyama…" Hinata scooted closer to the king, taking his hands. Kageyama gave in and relaxed into his touch, leaning his head on Hinata's shoulder. 

Hinata held him even when he started to cry, ugly, loud sobs wracking his chest. 

Hinata stayed with him, stroking his hair and rubbing circles into his back to calm him down. 

He hadn’t cried like this since he was young and his parents were there to comfort him. Now, he had only Hinata to numb the pain. 

A few minutes later, Kageyama had no tears left to cry and an emptiness settling in his stomach. He lifted his head to look at Hinata. 

“I’m sorry you had to see that.”

Hinata shook his head. “It’s fine. It’s more than fine, really.” 

They broke apart and stood up. Kageyama rubbed the back of his neck, suddenly realizing how awkward the situation was. 

He was grateful when they heard a voice from outside. 

“Hinata! Your Majesty! I wonder where they could be...”

Hinata opened the door and they stepped out. Daichi gave them a weird look, but shook it off. 

“The counter-spell is ready.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> One more chapter left
> 
> See you next week!
> 
> ps. I apologize for any mistakes it's late and i didn't reread this before posting


	22. Chapter 22

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Last chapter! Hope you guys enjoyed!
> 
> I'm taking a week's break so the first chapter of Part 2 will be up next Thursday

Everyone was gathered in the ballroom, and Kageyama had forgotten how eerie it was in there, with all the frozen people. Nishinoya had found where Tanaka was paralyzed and was fidgeting near his friend. 

Yachi and Kiyoko were standing in front of the group, Yachi holding a large pot full of brackish liquid. 

Daichi motioned for everyone to stand back. Kenma fidgeted nervously and Kuroo put an arm around his shoulder. Kenma stiffened, but then relaxed into him. 

Kageyama watched as Kiyoko went around, splashing a little bit of the concoction on each frozen person. She then splashed some on her own face and closed her eyes. 

She started to speak, in a language none of them knew. Slowly but surely, the frozen people started to turn blue.

Hinata grabbed Kageyama's arm. "Is that… is that normal?"

Kenma looked over at them and nodded. 

Hinata and Kageyama watched in awe. One by one, each person in the ballroom unfroze. Nishinoya cried out in joy when Tanaka started to move, and the two friends hugged. "Bruh!!" Tanaka yelled.

Daichi and Suga smiled at each other, Suga resting his head on the other's shoulder. "I feel so old looking at them," Daichi laughed.

Everyone was overwhelmed with joy, because they had succeeded. All of them, together. 

"Wow… that's… that’s pretty amazing," breathed Iwaizumi. Oikawa grinned and leaned in to peck him on the cheek. Iwaizumi blushed and pulled him in for a proper kiss. 

Kageyama raised his eyebrows at them and Kuroo whistled. They sheepishly pulled apart, but Oikawa kept his grip on Iwaizumi’s wrist, smiling wide. 

The people in the ballroom looked around confusedly, and to Kageyama’s relief, Daichi quickly explained what had happened. After the initial shock wore off, everyone began filing out of the castle. 

Finally, it was only the royal guard, the three scribes, the healers, and the young king who remained. 

Kageyama looked around the ballroom and let out a relieved breath, glad it was empty of paralyzed bodies. Hinata turned and smiled at him. It was finally over. They could settle back into their daily routines and continue on with their lives. 

Kageyama then realized he didn’t have a routine to settle back into. Before the coronation, before all of this had happened, he’d spent countless days in his room, isolating himself. He realized he didn’t want to do that anymore, didn’t need to do that anymore, not when he had finally people who cared about him.

He squeezed Hinata’s hand. It was going to be alright.

***

Kageyama was abruptly awoken the next morning by worried talking. He could hear Nishinoya’s familiar shouting. 

They were all gathered in the library and Kageyama quickly noticed the lack of a certain bubbly redhead. Daichi and the others went silent and stared at him.

He knew they were trying to hide something. 

“Where’s Hinata?” 

Suga stepped forward, speaking in his softest tone. “Your Majesty…”

Kageyama flinched back. “Where’s Hinata?” he asked again, the panic rising in his voice.

It was the quiet scribe who finally spoke up. “Shoyo got kidnapped. They even left a note.” Kuroo was at his side, and their fingers were lightly entwined. 

Kageyama felt all the air leave his lungs. He could hear the voices around him, but couldn’t make out what they were saying. Shaking, he tried to calm his beating heart. He struggled to stay on his feet, not letting himself be defeated. Hinata needed him, and he couldn’t let him down. He needed Hinata.

“I’m going to find him.” Kageyama steadied himself on the edge of a chair. “I’m going to find him.”

There were protests from multiple people, but Kageyama didn’t change his mind.

“He helped me when I needed it, so now it’s my turn to return the favor.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading!


End file.
